A former Barrington Town Council member has proposed state legislation that mimics an ordinance already on the books in her hometown.

Sen. Cynthia A. Coyne (D-Dist. 32, Barrington, Bristol and East Providence) recently proposed a bill that would raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco products in Rhode Island from 18 to 21. 

The bill (2018-S 2464) would apply to all tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes, and would take effect Jan. 1, 2019. 

Last fall, the Barrington Town Council adopted a local ordinance prohibiting the sale of tobacco to people under 21. Central Falls also passed similar legislation, and four states — California, New Jersey, Oregon, Hawaii — have already raised the tobacco age to 21. Maine’s age will rise to 21 in July. 

Said Sen. Coyne: “Raising the legal age for tobacco purchases makes a significant difference in access for young people, which in turn reduces their likelihood to develop a potentially lethal lifelong addiction. This is an idea that will save lives, reduce public health costs and save many families thousands of dollars a year that could be put to much better use. We will have a much healthier and more prosperous future in Rhode Island if we stop selling cigarettes to young people."

A report issued in March 2015 by the Institute of Medicine (now called the National Academy of Medicine) found that increasing the tobacco age will significantly reduce the number of adolescents and young adults who start smoking; reduce deaths caused by smoking; and immediately improve the health of adolescents, young adults and young mothers who would be deterred from smoking, as well as their children.

The Institute of Medicine study estimated that raising the age of tobacco purchase to 21 nationwide would result in a 25 percent reduction in youth smoking initiation, a 12 percent reduction in smoking rates overall, and 16,000 fewer preterm or low birth weight births in the first five years of the policy. 

In another study, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control found that 75 percent of adults favor raising the tobacco age to 21, including 70 percent of smokers and 65 percent of those age 18 to 24.

When the Barrington Town Council increased the minimum age to purchase tobacco, a local store owner opposed the change. Louis DelSesto, owner of ECig Shed on Maple Avenue, said the new ordinance would only force his customers who were were between the ages of 18 and 20 to buy their tobacco products in neighboring towns. 

Changing the tobacco purchase age to 21 has the support of health advocates in Rhode Island and nationwide, including Prevention Coalition BAY Team of Barrington, the American Lung Association, the American Heart Association and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. Rhode Island’s U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse have cosponsored federal legislation to raise age to 21 nationwide.