Bill would raise age to buy tobacco to 21 in New Hampshire

Mirroring a growing trend across the country, a new bill in the New Hampshire Legislature would raise to 21 the legal age to buy cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Democratic state Sen. David Watters of Dover said the measure he co-sponsored with Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley, a Republican, comes down to public health and saving the lives of young people.

“We’re talking about saving thousands of lives over a lifetime,” Watters told the Monitor on Monday. “If people don’t start smoking by the age of 21, it’s very unlikely they will ever start.”

He added that tobacco remains the No. 1 preventable cause of death and disease in New Hampshire, which he said “has some of the highest under-21 smoking rates in the nation.

Read more: http://www.concordmonitor.com/Cigarettes-Tobacco-NH-age-21-14905826