Alaskans react to FDA changes to tobacco buying age
Wasilla's Megan Ponte gave up smoking about a month ago.
"I didn't want to anymore," said the 19-year-old who will have to wait a few years if she chooses to light up again.
The new smoking age, in Wasilla and the rest of the country, is now 21.
"I think if you're old enough to join the military at 18, if you're considered an adult at 18, then they shouldn't make your decision for you for when you can chew tobacco, when you can drink alcohol and all that at 21," Ponte said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the change on its website. President Trump raised the minimum age on Dec. 20 when he approved changes to the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
Supporters of the age change believe it will keep tobacco away from young people.
"Most high school students don't have friends who are 21 but they do have friends who are 19 so it minimizes the access," said Marge Stoneking, the executive director of the American Lung Association in Alaska. "Their brains are prepped for, in the development stages that they're at, their brains are prepped to develop addiction pathways, they're particularly susceptible to nicotine."
The change has also brought confusion. The National Association of Convenience Stores is among the groups that thought it had several months before the new age law took effect. What the FDA does not say is how it will enforce the new law and how violators will be punished. Those decisions will be announced later.
"I still think it should be our decision on what we want to do if we're considered adults," Ponte said.
The FDA said the rule change involved existing law, which allowed the new age limit to take effect immediately.
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