TRENTON, N.J. -- New Jersey is the third state in the nation to raise the age at which a customer can legally buy tobacco products to 21, according to NorthJersey.com.
Only California and Hawaii have similar age restrictions. New Jersey’s age change will take effect Nov. 1.
Signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie on July 22, the new requirement bumps up the minimum age for buying and selling both tobacco and electronic-smoking devices from 19 to 21.
Younger people don’t “fully comprehend the potential for addiction, as well as the devastating long-term effects smoking can have on their health,” said Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, a co-sponsor of the bill, according to the news source. Raising the purchasing age, she said, will enable them to “mature more before making this potentially life-altering decision.”
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