Public health and anti-tobacco advocates are no longer facing fierce opposition from the tobacco industry in their push to raise the legal purchasing age from 18 to 21 years. The Senate of the US Congress introduced a bill to raise the age at which it was allowed to buy cigarettes in the United States. According to The Hill, the bill was introduced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Rep. Robert Aderholt.
According to legislators, they developed this bill because of the growing number of smokers among schoolchildren, as well as those who use nicotine solution through vape.
"We are proud of our past, we are proud of who we are. Farmers from Kentucky do not want their children to sit on nicotine while studying in middle and high schools," said Senator McConnell, who represents this state in Congress.
If the proposed measure is approved by both houses of Congress it will go to the US President for signature.