A high school student uses a vaping device in 2018 near a school in Massachusetts, one of eight states, along with the District, that have raised the smoking age to 21. (Steven Senne/AP)Spurred by a sharp rise in teen use of e-cigarettes, the Maryland legislature voted Wednesday to raise the legal age to buy tobacco from 18 to 21. Outgoing FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has said teen vaping use nationwide has become “an epidemic.”The District and eight states, including neighboring Virginia and California and Massachusetts, already set the smoking age at 21. Illinois, Washington and New York are poised to raise the age this year, too. In Maryland, lawmakers made an exception for service members, who will be able to buy tobacco at 18 by showing a military ID.

Source: Washington Post April 03, 2019 21:59 UTC