Smoking age will be 21 in Texas starting Sept. 1

Texans will now have to be at least 21 years old to buy tobacco products.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed the law raising the legal smoking age from 18.

The new legislation will go into effect Sept. 1, after identical bills were filed in the state House and Senate.

Senate Bill 338 was filed in the Senate by Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston) and House Bill 749 was filed in the House by Rep. John Zerwas, MD, (R-Richmond).

The law bans the sale of tobacco products, cigarettes, and electronic cigarettes from being sold to anyone under 21.

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According to the CDC, 7.4% of Texas high school students smoked cigarettes,10.3% of students used e-cigarettes, 5.4% used smokeless tobacco and 7.0%  smoked cigars on at least one day in the past 30 days in 2017.

10,400 kids become daily smokers every year.

Seven states have raised the minimum tobacco sale age to 21. Last year the city of San Antonio passed an ordinance that set the age for tobacco sales at 21.

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