Maine joins California, Hawaii and New Jersey in increasing the tobacco purchase age.
Maine will become the fourth state—following in the footsteps of California, Hawaii and New Jersey—to raise the smoking age to 21, after lawmakers overrode Maine Gov. Paul LePage’s veto.
According to an article in The New York Times, lawmakers passed the legislation, which not only raises the smoking age from 18-21 but also adds stricter regulations on electronic cigarette sales, on Wednesday, Aug. 2. The bill will go into effect July 1, 2018.
Maine’s new regulations will also apply to hookah pipes and smoking accessories.