In an effort to curb youth smoking, Walgreens will raise its minimum age to buy tobacco products to 21.

Walgreens Boots Alliance shared the news on Tuesday following U.S. Food and Drug Administration pressure to get retailers to keep tobacco out of the hands of young people. According to UPI, the new policy will go into effect on September 1.

"We've seen positive results from other recent efforts to strengthen our policies related to tobacco sales, and believe this next step can be even more impactful to reduce its use among teens and young adults," said Walgreens operations president Richard Ashworth in a statement.

 

"Through ongoing training and certification for pharmacists and technicians, we also continue to help and support people looking to quit the use of tobacco in their lives,"

 

Federally, the legal age to buy tobacco is 18, but several states have increased that age to 21 including California, Oregon, Washington and Utah. Idaho currently allows 18 year olds to buy tobacco, but they won't be able to at our Walgreens starting September 1. CVS stores discontinued all tobacco sales in 2014.

I really feel that raising the age can deter some young people from getting hooked on smoking. Kudos to Walgreens.

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