Tobacco 21

Katie Angerhofer, Dorian Huang, Brooke Hunsaker, Mariah Moody, Garrett Thomas,
Eryn Wilkes
While tobacco use among Utah teens is relatively low, the use of
e-cigarettes is increasing at an alarming rate

Tobacco vs. E-Cigarette Use

E-Cigarettes ● Teens that vape are 7
2009 - U.S. E-Cigarettes
Federal cigarette times more likely to
tax enacted
smoke later

● Utah policy makers need to

Cigarette
Cigarettes take responsibility now for
the health future
generations

https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/what-we-do/us/state-tobacco-taxes
https://ibis.health.utah.gov/indicator/complete_profile/CigSmokAdol.html 2
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/141/1/e20171832
Policy Proposal

Sponsor a new house bill

● Raise the legal age of all tobacco product purchase and use from 19 to 21. This bill will
include all tobacco products such as:
E-cigarettes Cigarettes Cigar Chewing tobacco Hookah

What can we do?

As representatives, there are responsibilities to constituents that need to be fulfilled. Social justice
ensures that the responsibility to protect vulnerable populations lies with the legislators.

3
Raising the Age to 21

Over 300 cities and counties

In 19 different states

Raising the tobacco

Why 21?
sales age to 21 has T21 states
been shown to
Drinking
reduce high school California
Buying a gun smoking by over
50% New Jersey
Gambling
Oregon
Marijuana
Hawaii

Maine

https://tobacco21.org/
4
Statistics that support Tobacco 21

900 adolescents become daily 39,000 youth will eventually

01 smokers in Utah each year die each year due to smoking

90% cigarette providers

50% reduction in number of
02 to kids under 18 are
minors receiving tobacco products
under age of 21 in U.S.

Raise legal tobacco 15-25% decrease in initiation

03 purchase age in U.S. of tobacco use by adolescents

https://truthinitiative.org/tobacco-use-utah
https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/problem/toll-us/utah
https://cph.osu.edu/sites/default/files/facstaff/docs/T21%20White%20Paper%20National%20Final.pdf
5
https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/youth_data/tobacco_use/index.htm
A Parent’s Concerns with Tobacco

ROGERS KD, REESE G. Smoking and High School PerformanceRelationship of Cigaret Smoking to Academic Performance, Absence from School, and Visits to
the School Nurse. Am J Dis Child. 1964;108(2):117–121. doi:10.1001/archpedi.1964.02090010119001 6
https://truthinitiative.org/tobacco-use-utah
Teenage tobacco use is a gateway to other risky and criminal
behaviors
Those who smoked
cigarettes before the age
of 15 were up to
80 times
more likely
to use illegal drugs than
those who did not
● With the rising number of high-
schoolers smoking over the
past several years, these
results predict an increase in
illegal drug use over the next
few years
https://www.jhsph.edu/news/news-releases/2000/smoking-drugs.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11377990
Compared with
nonsmokers, early
smokers were at least
3 times
more likely
engage in risky behaviors
These risky behaviors include:
● The sale or use of illegal drugs
● Early pregnancy and
parenthood
● Drop out of school
● Stealing and other delinquent
behaviors
36%
People who smoked
cigarettes from 12-15
years old were
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44 times
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more likely
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to use pharetra
crack luctus felis. Proin vel
tellus nec in felis volutpat amet
molestie cum sociis.
● For all age groups combined,
the 65.8 percent of study
participants who had “ever
smoked” were seven times
more likely to have tried
marijuana and cocaine
7
Financial Analysis

Massachusetts’ 21
Smoking Law
Utah spends an Costs $18.05 in
average of healthcare Smoking rates dropped
$524M on expenditure for 47% in 4 years
health care cost each pack of following this change,
directly caused cigarettes none of the tobacco
by smoking consumed retailers have gone out
of business as a
result.

https://www.tobaccofreekids.org/problem/toll-us/utah
http://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302174 8
http://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302174
Eric’s Story

9
Call to Action

In order to get this bill passed we need YOU!

10
Questions?

11
APPENDIX A

Age 18 is not magic. Well-heeled industry lobbyists constantly whisper to lawmakers the mantra, “Old enough to fight and
vote, old enough to drink and smoke.” They imply smoking is a right and a benefit, not an addiction and a societal
burden. Our society has always recognized that young people are vulnerable to impulsive and risky behaviors and granted
our kids gradually increasing access to potentially dangerous activities. We allow partial work permits at age 14 then driver’s
licenses at 16 and legal responsibilities at 18. Finally we grant access to alcohol, and in most states gambling and
handguns, at age 21. In the four states (Alaska, Oregon, Colorado, and Washington) that have legalized marijuana, the
legal sales age is set at 21. Smoking is statistically much more deadly than any of these other risky behaviors. How many
hundreds of thousand of lives should be traded for the shortsighted sophistry of “18 = adult”?

https://tobacco21.org/critical-issues/ 12
APPENDIX B

Health Impact Pyramid

13