Too young for puffin’

A bill authored by state Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) would, if passed, raise the legal minimum age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21 years old.

SB 151 is an effort to curb tobacco use among California’s teenagers—about 21,300 of whom start smoking each year, said Kimberly Amazeen, vice president for the American Lung Association in California.

If SB 151 is passed, California would become the first state in the nation to raise the minimum smoking age to 21, according to California Healthline. However, the legislation is sure to face strong opposition from the tobacco industry, as a similar bill failed on the Senate floor in 2002.