Altria, the parent company of the US maker of Marlboro cigarettes, calls for 21 to be the nationwide standard to smoke and buy tobacco products, Altria said in a press release.

With legislation signed in New York and Ohio in July, today more than 50 per cent of the US population lives in states that have raised the legal age of purchase for all tobacco products to 21. 18 states and the District of Columbia have enacted legislation raising the legal age of purchase to 21 and Altria supports that: “Now is the time to move to 21, which is by far the best way to stop the rise in underage e-vapour use and is supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans. Taking this step will reduce underage access to these products. It will also pave the way for e-vapour products to realize their enormous harm reduction potential for millions of adult smokers 21 and older,” Howard Willard, chairman and chief executive officer of Altria Group, was quoted as saying.
Raising the federal minimum age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21 is broadly popular among the American electorate, according to public opinion research commissioned by Altria Client Services in December 2018. This research showed that 74 per cent of voters support the increase and that support is consistently high throughout the country.
Data show that youth under 18 get tobacco products (including e‐vapour) primarily through social access from friends, siblings and others who purchase the products for them. About 80 per cent of high school students in the US turn 18 before graduating. By raising the minimum age to 21, almost no high school student should be able to legally buy tobacco products, the press release said.