FDA mandates photo ID for all under 30 to buy tobacco

Aug. 29 (UPI) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration mandated retailers Thursday require photo identification for anyone under the age of 30 who is trying to buy tobacco products.

The new rule, which goes into effect Sept. 30 and also affects e-cigarettes, changes the current mandate for retailers, which is to check for ID of anyone under the age of 27. The FDA argues research shows that regardless of appearance, customers' ages are difficult for retailers to accurately discern from looks alone.

It further mandates that also starting Sept. 30 retailers may not use vending machines to sell tobacco in facilities where those under the age of 21 are permitted to enter at any time, increasing the previous age limit from 18.

The American Lung Association welcomed the new rule, calling it "a critical step toward protecting young people from tobacco addiction."

"The Lung Association is pleased that FDA finally released the Tobacco 21 rule to help parents protect their children from falling prey to this lethal addiction," Erika Sward, assistant vice president of Nationwide Advocacy at the Lung Association, said in an emailed statement.

Tobacco 21 is legislation then-President Donald Trump signed into law in December of 209 that raised the federal minimum age for tobacco sales from 18 to 21.

The FDA said Thursday that the new rule aligns with that legislation and continues the mission of decreasing underage tobacco use and sales while maximizing public health

"Today's rule is another key step toward protecting our nation's youth from the health risks of tobacco products," Brian King, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, said in a statement .

"Decades of science have shown that keeping tobacco products away from youth is critical to reducing the number of people who ultimately become addicted to these products and suffer from tobacco-related disease and death."

Ninety-five percent of adult smokers smoked their first cigarette before the age of 21, according to the FDA, which said it "continues to robustly enforce" the federal minimum age for tobaccos sales, conducting more than 1.5 million compliance checks of retailers to aid in preventing future smokers.

Statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable disease, disability and death, with the habit accounting for more than 480,000 deaths, or about one in five deaths, every year.

However, smoking rates have been for dropping for years.

In 2005, the adult smoking rate was nearly 21% but that rate has nearly halved to 11.5% as of 2021.

Among those 18-24, smokers only accounted for 5.3% of that demographic, the lowest of all adult demographics.

The annual National Young Tobacco Survey for 2023 also saw a drop from 16.5% of high school students reported use of any tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, in 2022 to 12.6% last year.

"No child should ever use a tobacco product," Sward said. " Now it is imperative that the law is fully implemented to stop retailers from selling to kids."