Title
An Ordinance to Add a New Section 9:328a, to Amend Sections 9:328, 9:329 and 9:333, and to Repeal Sections 9:330, 9:331, and 9:332 of Chapter 118, Tobacco Regulation, of Title IX of the Code of the City of Ann Arbor (Ordinance No. ORD-16-17)
Memorandum
Rationale
Section 9:328a presents the rationale for increasing the minimum legal age of access for tobacco products from 18 to 21, a policy known as Tobacco 21. Tobacco use continues to rank as the leading preventable cause of death in Michigan. For the first time in 20 years, adult smoking rates in Washtenaw County have increased. Locally, high school students report relatively easy access to tobacco products, including electronic smoking devices. Social networks of near-aged peers (ages 18 to 20) are a common source of these products for younger adolescents.
Tobacco 21 policy targets initiation, as well as the transition period from experimental to regular tobacco use. By curtailing social sources of tobacco products, the Institute of Medicine predicted that raising the minimum legal age of access to 21 nationwide would delay initiation by 12%, with the largest proportionate reduction in initiation likely occurring among adolescents ages 15-17. Instituting additional access barriers for 18-20 year olds simultaneously addresses the fact that the majority of tobacco users transition from experimental to habitual use by the age of 21.
Tobacco 21 policies are increasingly common and well supported by the public. Three states (California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts), as well as scores of local communities have successfully implemented this change. Nationally, 70.5% of people, including 57.8% of people who currently smoke, support raising the minimum age of legal access to 21.
Amendments
Section 2 presents the shift in the minimum age of legal access from 18 to 21. In addition to tobacco products, section 9:328b defines electronic smoking devices and expands the existing ordinance to include these p...
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