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Legal smoking age
The smoking age is the minimum legal age required to purchase or use tobacco or cannabis products. Most countries have laws that forbid sale of tobacco products to persons younger than certain ages, usually the age of majority.
This article does not discuss laws that regulate electronic cigarettes.
Since 2012, various jurisdictions throughout the world have legalized cannabis for recreational use. In Mexico, Uruguay and cannabis-legal jurisdictions in the United States, the legal age to possess or purchase cannabis is identical to the tobacco purchase age (18 in Mexico and Uruguay and 21 in the United States). In Canada, the legal age to possess or purchase cannabis is 19 in all provinces and territories except Alberta (18) and Quebec (21). There are therefore three Canadian provinces (Manitoba, Quebec and Saskatchewan) and two territories (the Northwest Territories and Yukon) where the age to purchase tobacco is lower than the age to possess and purchase cannabis, and one province (Prince Edward Island) where the tobacco purchase age is higher. Prior to December 2019, when the United States raised its tobacco purchase age to 21 in all states and territories, several U.S. states had tobacco purchase ages lower than their cannabis possession and purchase ages. In Germany, the legal age to possess and purchase cannabis is 18.
To reduce illegal sales, active enforcement is more effective than giving retailers information. The retailer compliance with legislation can be assessed by test purchasing. Under Article 16 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), most reporting Parties indicate that they ban sales of tobacco products to minors, and many have raised the minimum legal age of purchase. In the 2024 reporting cycle, several Parties reported increasing the minimum age, including the Cook Islands, Ethiopia, Ireland and the Maldives, which raised it to 21 years, and others reported expanding bans on sales to minors to cover additional tobacco and nicotine products and strengthening enforcement mechanisms and penalties.
A 2024 systematic review in Nicotine & Tobacco Research examining jurisdictions that raised the minimum legal sales age for tobacco to 20 or 21 found that higher ages of sale were generally associated with lower prevalence of cigarette smoking among people aged 11–20 years, particularly where age-of-sale laws formed part of broader tobacco-control measures.
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Legal smoking age
The smoking age is the minimum legal age required to purchase or use tobacco or cannabis products. Most countries have laws that forbid sale of tobacco products to persons younger than certain ages, usually the age of majority.
This article does not discuss laws that regulate electronic cigarettes.
Since 2012, various jurisdictions throughout the world have legalized cannabis for recreational use. In Mexico, Uruguay and cannabis-legal jurisdictions in the United States, the legal age to possess or purchase cannabis is identical to the tobacco purchase age (18 in Mexico and Uruguay and 21 in the United States). In Canada, the legal age to possess or purchase cannabis is 19 in all provinces and territories except Alberta (18) and Quebec (21). There are therefore three Canadian provinces (Manitoba, Quebec and Saskatchewan) and two territories (the Northwest Territories and Yukon) where the age to purchase tobacco is lower than the age to possess and purchase cannabis, and one province (Prince Edward Island) where the tobacco purchase age is higher. Prior to December 2019, when the United States raised its tobacco purchase age to 21 in all states and territories, several U.S. states had tobacco purchase ages lower than their cannabis possession and purchase ages. In Germany, the legal age to possess and purchase cannabis is 18.
To reduce illegal sales, active enforcement is more effective than giving retailers information. The retailer compliance with legislation can be assessed by test purchasing. Under Article 16 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), most reporting Parties indicate that they ban sales of tobacco products to minors, and many have raised the minimum legal age of purchase. In the 2024 reporting cycle, several Parties reported increasing the minimum age, including the Cook Islands, Ethiopia, Ireland and the Maldives, which raised it to 21 years, and others reported expanding bans on sales to minors to cover additional tobacco and nicotine products and strengthening enforcement mechanisms and penalties.
A 2024 systematic review in Nicotine & Tobacco Research examining jurisdictions that raised the minimum legal sales age for tobacco to 20 or 21 found that higher ages of sale were generally associated with lower prevalence of cigarette smoking among people aged 11–20 years, particularly where age-of-sale laws formed part of broader tobacco-control measures.