If you are keeping track of the percentage of the states to raise the tobacco purchase age to 21, it is now 28%. On Friday, May 17th the State of Vermont became the 14th State in the U.S. to raise the tobacco age to 21. A bill which was passed in the Maryland legislature was signed into law by Governor Phil Scott.

The new law begins to go into effect September 1st. An exemption is made for members of the military who are at least 18 years old.

Maryland joins Hawaii, California, New Jersey, Maine, Oregon, Massachusetts, Virginia, Utah, Washington, Illinois, Delaware, Arkansas, and Maryland as states where the tobacco purchase age is now 21.

There are now several federal bills in Congress proposing raising the tobacco purchase minimum age to 21 on a national level. It’s a movement supported by Tobacco-Free Kids, Tobacco 21, and most recently, Altria has announced support for a federally-mandated minimum tobacco purchase age of 21. This is a movement most in the premium cigar industry have chosen not to fight.