Nicotine - The Law

The Law

In most states, people must be eighteen years old to purchase tobacco products legally. In Alabama, Alaska, and Utah, the minimum age for purchase of tobacco is nineteen. As of the early 2000s, four other states—California, New Jersey, Illinois, and Massachusetts—were considering laws to raise the age as well. The burden of keeping underage persons from buying cigarettes or smokeless tobacco falls on the stores that sell it.

Shopkeepers risk prosecution if they are caught selling tobacco to minors. Most stores require that younger buyers produce valid identification showing date of birth. Occasionally, young undercover police officers will attempt to buy tobacco without proper identification to see if the shopkeepers are abiding by the law. A store owner who sells tobacco to a minor risks losing his or her license to sell the product, as well as fines or closure of the business.

People under the age of eighteen who get caught with tobacco products do not face criminal prosecution. However, they can be suspended from school if caught with tobacco on school grounds. Most authorities contact parents or legal guardians to report the situation. For teens who smoke, secrecy rarely lasts very long. The telltale smell of tobacco clinging to clothing and hair is hard to disguise.

Discrimination Against Smokers

In some states, private companies have introduced policies that deny jobs to smokers. The companies cite the extra burden of health care costs for their smoking employees, as well as loss of work time due to smoking breaks. Many smokers claim that this is discrimination and should not be a factor deciding employment, especially since smoking is legal. As of early 2005 no lawsuits had yet developed from the introduction of these measures, but analysts expected that legal action would soon occur.

Various states have laws that prohibit employers from discriminating against their staff for engaging in certain legal activities, like smoking, while they are not at work. According to Marshall H. Tanick in the Minneapolis Star Tribune "about two dozen states … have so-called 'lifestyle rights' laws," including Minnesota, Texas, California, and Florida. Such laws prohibit employers from discriminating against "employees because of lawful off-duty conduct." Tanick noted that the 1992 Minnesota law specifically "extends to consumption of 'food, alcohol, or non-alcoholic beverages and tobacco."' Employers can restrict the use of certain products, consumed by the employee off-duty, if use of those products interferes with the person's ability to do his or her job.