The Governor of new Jersey Chris Christie on Friday signed a law that made the state third in the United States (after Hawaii and California), where the age for Smoking was raised to 21 years.
On Friday, Christie gave a speech about the tensions in the health system, caused by diseases associated with tobacco Smoking. He also noted that his mother died from this bad habit.
«Raising the minimum age allowing purchase of tobacco to 21 years, we give young people more time to reach maturity and a better understanding of how dangerous can be Smoking, and that it is better not to start Smoking at all,» Christie was quoted by ABC News.
This age restriction applies to the purchase of tobacco products and electronic Smoking devices.
Richard Cody and Joseph Vitale, co-authors of the bill, said that statistics show that Smoking becomes the reason for approximately $ 4 billion of additional health care costs for the state each year. According to them, this amount does not include costs associated with diseases caused by passive Smoking.
«Evidence suggests that if people do not smoke before the age of 21, they most likely will not start Smoking and then,» said Vitale. «Toughening the requirements to buyers of cigarettes by raising the age criterion, will help to prevent our young people becoming lifelong smokers and to suffer from long-term consequences of this habit.»
