United States
Each state and many localities have different smoking laws. The purchase of tobacco by a person under the age of 18 is illegal and the vendor may suffer a fine for selling the underaged person tobacco products. The purchasing age in the United States is 18 for 46 of the 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia. Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey and Utah have raised the purchasing age to 19. Onondaga, Nassau and Suffolk Counties in New York have done the same.
It is legal for persons under the age of 18 to smoke, however they cannot legally purchase the cigarettes.
When a customer appears to be under a specific age, state and local laws may require retailers to verify age from official documentation.
As of June 22, 2009, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act gave the Food and Drug Administration broader powers to regulate tobacco. It imposed strong warning labels on packaged cigarettes. It also raised the federal excise tax on cigarettes and banned flavored cigarettes (excluding menthol). It also made it illegal to install new cigarette vending machines, and banned them in places where persons under 21 are allowed.
In the state of Alaska, it is legal for a person of the age 18 to possess tobacco products. However, parental consent is needed to obtain tobacco products for anyone under the age 18.
As of November 6, 2012 and December 6, 2012 respectively, cannabis (marijuana) smoking is legal for personal use in Colorado and Washington states for those over 21, although it is still federally illegal.
Read more about this topic: Smoking Age
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