Cigarette Vending machines were banned in 2009 as a result of The Tobacco Control act. While not a full ban, it restricted cigarette locations to only facilities in which people under the age of 18 were not present.
Tobacco Control Act
The Tobacco Control Act was signed into law on June 22, 2009, providing the FDA with the authority to regulate tobacco products. The Tobacco control act limited more than just cigarette vending machines – is increased the legal age to consume tobacco to 21, made it illegal to sell less than 20 cigarettes in a carton, prohibited free samples and much more.
The warnings signs we’re accustomed to seeing on Tobacco products are also a result of the 2009 Tobacco Control Act. The presiding president of the time, Barack Obama, has struggled with a Tobacco addiction throughout his life. While signing the bill into law, he was quoted saying
“I know — I was one of these teenagers, and so I know how difficult it can be to break this habit when it’s been with you for a long time. And I also know that kids today don’t just start smoking for no reason. They’re aggressively targeted as customers by the tobacco industry.” – Barack Obama
What Happened Next
According to a graph from the New York Times, the use of Cigarettes among the youth has largely been in decline. Or at-least it was until 2017 with the rise in popularity of E-cigarettes, or vapes as they’re more commonly referred to as. According to a study done by the CDC, in 2024, an estimated 1.63 million U.S. middle and high school students currently used e-cigarettes, a significant decline from 2.13 million in 2023.
In response to this growing epidemic, Ann McNeill, professor of tobacco addictions, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, and author of a forthcoming review of the evidence for Government, said:
“The rise in vaping is concerning and we need to understand what lies behind this such as packaging, accessibility, taste or addictiveness. Our response must be proportionate given that smoking is a much bigger risk to the health of young people and the good evidence that e-cigarettes can be an effective stop smoking aid. Government should ensure existing laws are enforced and identify where regulations could be extended. However, this must be done alongside securing a much quicker decline in young people taking up smoking and helping more smokers to stop.”
