I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2411 

To prohibit the sale of tobacco products to individuals under the age of 

21. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 30, 2019 

Ms. DEGETTE (for herself, Mr. STEWART, Mr. COHEN, Ms. HERRERA

BEUTLER, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. FLORES, and Mr. WITTMAN) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To prohibit the sale of tobacco products to individuals under 

the age of 21. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tobacco to 21 Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) Tobacco use has caused more than 

8 20,800,000 premature deaths in the United States 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2411 IH

1 since the Surgeon General’s first report on smoking 

2 in 1964. 

3 (2) The 1964 Surgeon General’s report linked 

4 cigarette smoking to cancer, and since then, other 

5 tobacco products, including cigars, cigarillos, roll6 your-own products, and smokeless tobacco have been 

7 causally linked to cancer. 

8 (3) While substantial gains have been made 

9 since 1964, tobacco use remains the leading prevent10 able cause of death in the United States, responsible 

11 for more than 480,000 premature deaths each year. 

12 (4) Tobacco use costs the United States ap13 proximately $175,000,000,000 in direct medical 

14 costs and $156,000,000,000 in lost productivity 

15 every year. 

16 (5) More than 34,000,000 people in the United 

17 States still smoke, and the tobacco industry con18 tinues to challenge tobacco control measures in 

19 court, manipulate products to evade existing regula20 tions, introduce new and dangerous tobacco prod21 ucts, and spend billions of dollars on marketing to 

22 deceive the public and addict more children. 

23 (6) An estimated 5,600,000 youth aged 17 and 

24 under are projected to die prematurely from a toVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2411.IH H2411

pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2411 IH

1 bacco-related illness if prevalence rates do not 

2 change. 

3 (7) Each day in the United States, more than 

4 2,000 youth under 18 years of age smoke their first 

5 cigarette. 

6 (8) Use of tobacco products in any form is not 

7 safe, especially during adolescence, as such use can 

8 lead to nicotine dependence and subsequent tobacco9 related diseases and death. 

10 (9) Adolescents are especially vulnerable to the 

11 effects of nicotine and nicotine addiction and appear 

12 to show signs of nicotine addiction at lower levels of 

13 exposure compared to adults. 

14 (10) Nicotine exposure during adolescence may 

15 have lasting adverse consequences on brain develop16 ment. According to the Surgeon General, the use of 

17 products containing nicotine in any form among 

18 youth, including in electronic cigarettes, is unsafe. 

19 (11) The likelihood of developing smoking-re20 lated cancers increases with duration of smoking. 

21 Therefore, smokers that start at younger ages and 

22 continue to smoke are at higher risk for tobacco-re23 lated disease and death. 

24 (12) National data show that about 94 percent 

25 of adult smokers begin smoking before they turn 21. 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2411 IH

1 The ages of 18 to 21 are a critical period when 

2 many smokers move from experimental smoking to 

3 regular, daily use. 

4 (13) Three-quarters of adults in the United 

5 States favor raising the tobacco age of sale to 21 

6 years, including 7 in 10 smokers. 

7 (14) In 2018, the Surgeon General issued an 

8 advisory on the electronic cigarette epidemic among 

9 youth. Electronic cigarette use among high school 

10 students in the United States increased 78 percent 

11 from 2017 to 2018. In 2018, more than 3,600,000 

12 youth, including 1 in 5 high school students and 1 

13 in 20 middle school students used electronic ciga14 rettes. 

15 (15) Electronic cigarettes are the most com16 monly used tobacco product among youth. According 

17 to the Surgeon General’s 2016 report on electronic 

18 cigarettes, electronic cigarette use is strongly associ19 ated with the use of other tobacco products among 

20 youth and young adults. 

21 (16) The 2015 report of the National Academy 

22 of Medicine entitled, ‘‘Public Health Implications of 

23 Raising the Minimum Age of Legal Access to To24 bacco Products’’, concluded that raising the min25 imum legal age of sale of tobacco products nationVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2411.IH H2411

pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2411 IH

1 wide will reduce tobacco initiation, particularly 

2 among adolescents aged 15 to 17, and will improve 

3 health across the lifespan and save lives. Specifically, 

4 the report said that raising the minimum legal age 

5 of sale of tobacco products nationwide to age 21 

6 would, over time, lead to a 12-percent decrease in 

7 smoking prevalence. 

8 (17) The National Academy of Medicine report 

9 also predicts that raising the minimum legal age of 

10 sale of tobacco products nationwide to age 21 would 

11 result in 223,000 fewer premature deaths, 45,000 

12 fewer deaths from lung cancer, and 4,200,000 fewer 

13 years of life lost for those born between 2000 and 

14 2019. In addition, the report concluded that raising 

15 the minimum legal age of sale would result in near 

16 immediate reductions in preterm birth, low birth 

17 weight, and sudden infant death syndrome. 

18 (18) Regulating the retail environment, actively 

19 enforcing laws, and educating retailers are strategies 

20 that Federal, State, and local governments can take 

21 to restrict the availability of tobacco products to 

22 youth. 

23 (19) Twelve States, the District of Columbia, 

24 and more than 110 localities in an additional 15 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 2411 IH

1 States have raised the minimum legal tobacco sale 

2 age to 21. 

3 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION AND ENFORCEMENT. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi5 sion of law, including any Federal regulation, it shall be 

6 unlawful to sell a tobacco product to anyone under the 

7 age of 21 or to sell a tobacco product to anyone under 

8 30 without verification of age by means of photo identi9 fication. 

10 (b) AUTHORITY TO ENFORCE.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

12 Human Services (referred to in this section as the 

13 ‘‘Secretary’’) is authorized to enforce the prohibition 

14 under subsection (a) and shall take necessary action 

15 to enforce such prohibition, including, as appro16 priate, conducting undercover compliance checks, 

17 performing retailer inspections, initiating enforce18 ment actions for noncompliance, and taking any 

19 other measures appropriate to help ensure nation20 wide compliance with such prohibition. 

21 (2) GUIDANCE.—The Secretary may issue guid22 ance concerning the responsibility of persons subject 

23 to subsection (a) to ensure compliance with such 

24 prohibition. 

25 (c) PENALTIES.— 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 2411 IH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a violation of 

2 subsection (a), the Secretary may apply the penalties 

3 under section 103(q)(2) of the Family Smoking Pre4 vention and Tobacco Control Act (Public Law 111– 

5 31), as though such subsection (a) were a regulation 

6 promulgated under paragraph (1) of section 906(d) 

7 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 

8 U.S.C. 387f(d)), notwithstanding paragraph 

9 (3)(A)(ii) of such section 906(d). 

10 (2) REPEATED VIOLATIONS.—In the case of re11 peated violations of subsection (a), alone or com12 bined with violations of other regulations promul13 gated under 906(d)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, 

14 and Cosmetic Act, the Secretary may impose a pen15 alty under section 303(f)(8) of such Act (21 U.S.C. 

16 333(f)(8)), as though subsection (a) were a regula17 tion promulgated under paragraph (1) of section 

18 906(d) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 

19 Act, notwithstanding paragraph (3)(A)(ii) of such 

20 section 906(d). 

21 (d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘tobacco 

22 product’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

23 201(rr) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 

24 U.S.C. 321(rr)). 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 2411 IH

1 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 

2 on January 1, 2020. 

3 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec4 tion shall be construed to prevent a State or local govern5 mental entity from establishing, enforcing, or maintaining 

6 a law with respect to sales of tobacco to individuals below 

7 a minimum age, provided that such State or local law is 

8 in addition to, or more stringent than, Federal law. 

9 (g) APPLICATION.—The prohibition under subsection 

10 (a) applies only to a manufacturer, distributor, retailer, 

11 third-party marketplace, or other commercial entity that 

12 sells tobacco products. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS