Calif. passes bill to raise smoking age to 21

Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown is considering signing a bill that would raise the state’s smoking age to 21.

State lawmakers on Thursday morning passed the bill lifting the smoking age from 18 as part of a series of restrictions on tobacco and e-cigarette products. Lawmakers were meeting in a special session called by Brown to address a variety of health-related issues.

Anti-smoking advocates, including the American Cancer Society, lobbied heavily for the package. They argued raising the smoking age would help prevent young people from starting smoking, and ultimately reduce the number of people killed by smoking-related illnesses every year.

Hawaii is currently the only state with a smoking age of 21, although about 100 cities across the country have similar measures.

"Tobacco use claims the lives of 40,000 Californians each year and costs the state more than $13 billion in medical expenses,” the American Cancer Society said in pushing lawmakers to pass the proposals. "Over $3.5 billion are taxpayer dollars used to treat Medi-Cal patients with tobacco-related illnesses.”

Anti-smoking advocates are also preparing a ballot initiative for November that would raise the state’s tax on packs of cigarettes by $2 per pack, up from the current 87 cents a pack.