Georgia Department of Health’s Coastal Health District and Healthy Savannah are launching a new campaign with Savannah area retailers to remind the public of Georgia’s Tobacco 21 Law that prohibits tobacco and vaping products from being sold to anyone under 21 years of age. The campaign also provides resources to young people and others interested in quitting.

Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable and premature death in the United States. Nearly all tobacco use begins during youth and young adulthood. People who begin smoking at a young age

are more likely to become addicted, to progress to daily smoking, and to smoke more heavily in adulthood. In addition, the use of nicotine by adolescents and young adults can harm the developing brain, including the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood, and impulse control.

Georgia’s Tobacco 21 Law was passed in July 2020, making it unlawful for any person to sell or barter, directly or indirectly any cigarettes, tobacco products, tobacco-related objects, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products to any individual under the age of 21. The law also makes it unlawful for anyone under 21 to purchase such products or for anyone to purchase such products for those under 21. It also prohibits vaping within a school safety zone.

The state law aligns with a 2019 amendment to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act that raised the minimum legal sales age for tobacco products from 18 to 21 years. At the time, of the 34 million adults who smoked cigarettes, 9 out of 10 who smoked daily had first started smoking by age 18. After age 25, almost no adults began smoking or transitioned to daily smoking.