Toward the end of 2019, President Trump approved raising the age for purchasing nicotine products to 21. Being a popular topic in the media for years, this was big news to hear.
While tobacco has been around for centuries, vaping has become something relatively new to the public. For a while, no one knew the potential risks of vaping. It has been packaged with a slick design and viewed as a healthier alternative to smoking, but health risks were unpredictable.
This was especially alerting because the average of teens who used tobacco was going down significantly. Vaping was becoming an, it was becoming a gateway into nicotine addiction for younger generations.
Along with raising the age for purchasing nicotine products, several flavors of vape juices have been taken off the market. This is to stop appealing to minors in hope that younger generations will not experiment with tobacco products.
The effect of raising the age for purchasing nicotine products can be taken both positively and negatively.
As adults, we should have the right to choose what we do with our bodies, even if that is smoking, chewing or vaping. When products are affecting minors and their health, the question of when the law should intervene arises.
For the sake of our nation’s adolescent health, changing the age for tobacco consumption is necessary. Raising the age for purchasing nicotine products affects everyone nationwide, even the university.
The University of Idaho has been a tobacco free campus since 2016. By raising the age for purchasing nicotine products, vaping and smoking on campus will be even more rare.
With a change in age for tobacco consumption, some will go through a tough time quitting.
For help with cessation of nicotine consumption, UI offers resources to help cope and quit. Classes can be taken to help quit and other supporting resources can be accessed. These resources can
be found online.
Emily Pearce can be reached at [email protected]