San Francisco Raises Tobacco Buying Age to 21 March 1, 2016 Advocacy, News SFMS advocacy, Tobacco 21 0 Legislation that would increase the legal age to buy tobacco in San Francisco from 18 to 21 was unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors today. Authored by Supervisor Scott Weiner, the Tobacco 21 ordinance was endorsed by the San Francisco Medical Society, and SFMS members provided testimony in strong support of the legislation at February’s public comment session to ensure bill passage. Long experience and much research indicates that perhaps the most important preventive goal with regard to decreasing tobacco use is to delay the onset of use as long as possible. 90% of tobacco users start before 21 and that if such use can be prevented, the young adults are unlikely to start. San Francisco joins New York City and Boston to raise the minimum age to purchase cigarettes and other tobacco products, including c-cigarettes. The ordinance will go into effect on June 1. SFMS would like to applaud Supervisors Scott Weiner, Eric Mar, Malia Cohen, and Mark Farrell for their leadership in championing sound public health policies. Click here to view the details of the Tobacco 21 ordinance. Click here to view the SFMS letter of support for Tobacco 21. Comments are closed.
