Maine will become the fourth state to raise the minimum age to 21 for the purchase of cigarettes and other tobacco products such as vaping devices, the Bangor Daily News said.

Legislators overrode the veto of Governor Paul LePage to approve the measure, which will take effect 1 July 2018. LePage had opposed the measure as an example of social engineering, the Daily News said.
Persons who are 18 or older next 1 July will be exempted, which means the full force will not be felt until 2021, the newspaper said. Most smokers take up the habit before they reach the age of 21, say advocates of the higher age in effect in Hawaii, California and New Jersey.