Hawaii Raises Smoking Age to 21

Hawaii recently became the first state to raise the legal age for buying cigarettes to 21, following similar moves by dozens of cities. Health groups applaud such measures but retailers warn of a growing black market.

How old do you have to be to buy cigarettes? Increasingly, that depends on where you live.
In most places, you can still buy cigarettes if you're 18. Last month, however, Hawaii became the first state to raise the minimum age for tobacco purchases to 21. The California Senate has passed similar legislation, while a handful of states have raised the age to 19.

The push to keep cigarettes out of the hands of youngsters as long as possible has more momentum at the local level. Notably, New York raised the smoking age to 21 two years ago.

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