Table 1.
Type of Tobacco 21 coverage, legal preemption and percent of population covered, by age group and state
| State | Type of coverage† | Legal Preemption‡ | Residents ages 15–17 |
Residents ages 18–20 |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | % | N | % | |||
| Alabama § | None | No | 192731 | 0.0 | 205063 | 0.0 |
| Alaska § | Partial | No | 30082 | 1.1 | 30618 | 1.0 |
| Arizona | Partial | No | 272870 | 0.3 | 286722 | 0.4 |
| Arkansas § | Partial | No | 119237 | 1.2 | 125926 | 1.0 |
| California | Full | Yes | 1564955 | 100.0 | 1664166 | 100.0 |
| Colorado | Partial | No | 203520 | 0.3 | 217892 | 0.3 |
| Connecticut | Partial | No | 145740 | 3.5 | 158352 | 5.7 |
| Delaware | None | Yes | 34607 | 0.0 | 39815 | 0.0 |
| District of Columbia | Full | No | 15549 | 100.0 | 34274 | 100.0 |
| Florida | None | No | 709706 | 0.0 | 750875 | 0.0 |
| Georgia | None | No | 420514 | 0.0 | 444739 | 0.0 |
| Hawaii | Full | No | 48065 | 100.0 | 51117 | 100.0 |
| Idaho | None | No | 71487 | 0.0 | 68524 | 0.0 |
| Illinois | Partial | No | 520622 | 30.5 | 526275 | 33.4 |
| Indiana | None | Yes | 272447 | 0.0 | 289016 | 0.0 |
| Iowa | None | Yes | 122159 | 0.0 | 142459 | 0.0 |
| Kansas | Partial | No* | 118944 | 30.8 | 128215 | 24.7 |
| Kentucky | None | Yes | 171689 | 0.0 | 182627 | 0.0 |
| Louisiana | None | Yes | 184430 | 0.0 | 194349 | 0.0 |
| Maine | Full | No | 47981 | 100.0 | 52056 | 100.0 |
| Maryland | None | No | 230882 | 0.0 | 239484 | 0.0 |
| Massachusetts | Full | No | 251578 | 100.0 | 315197 | 100.0 |
| Michigan | Partial | Yes* | 404840 | 5.1 | 430873 | 7.5 |
| Minnesota | Partial | No | 213587 | 15.1 | 216777 | 18.1 |
| Mississippi | Partial | Yes | 123844 | 0.5 | 137789 | 0.4 |
| Missouri | Partial | No | 238769 | 24.7 | 254094 | 28.0 |
| Montana | None | Yes | 37236 | 0.0 | 43338 | 0.0 |
| Nebraska | None | No | 75154 | 0.0 | 82711 | 0.0 |
| Nevada | None | Yes | 110872 | 0.0 | 102179 | 0.0 |
| New Hampshire | Partial | No | 50844 | 3.2 | 58159 | 6.4 |
| New Jersey | Full | No | 356313 | 100.0 | 337673 | 100.0 |
| New Mexico | None | Yes | 84138 | 0.0 | 88207 | 0.0 |
| New York | Partial | No | 735437 | 73.9 | 835077 | 71.1 |
| North Carolina | None | Yes | 385891 | 0.0 | 420191 | 0.0 |
| North Dakota | None | No | 25623 | 0.0 | 36079 | 0.0 |
| Ohio | Partial | No | 465105 | 15.6 | 479930 | 21.7 |
| Oklahoma | None | Yes | 154324 | 0.0 | 163914 | 0.0 |
| Oregon | Full | No | 147313 | 100.0 | 153873 | 100.0 |
| Pennsylvania | None | Yes | 481595 | 0.0 | 550400 | 0.0 |
| Rhode Island | Partial | No* | 38781 | 4.0 | 54276 | 2.4 |
| South Carolina | None | Yes | 182587 | 0.0 | 206717 | 0.0 |
| South Dakota | None | Yes | 33160 | 0.0 | 36836 | 0.0 |
| Tennessee | None | Yes | 254404 | 0.0 | 263106 | 0.0 |
| Texas | Partial | No | 1165199 | 5.2 | 1176865 | 5.7 |
| Utah | None | No | 140824 | 0.0 | 132213 | 0.0 |
| Vermont | None | No | 23042 | 0.0 | 31697 | 0.0 |
| Virginia | None | No | 313265 | 0.0 | 354421 | 0.0 |
| Washington | None | Yes | 267550 | 0.0 | 273868 | 0.0 |
| West Virginia | None | No | 65917 | 0.0 | 73095 | 0.0 |
| Wisconsin | None | Yes | 225177 | 0.0 | 243301 | 0.0 |
| Wyoming | None | Yes | 21992 | 0.0 | 24650 | 0.0 |
None = No Tobacco 21 laws; Full = Statewide Tobacco 21 law; Partial = Local Tobacco 21 laws only
Source: https://healthdata.gov/dataset/cdc-state-system-tobacco-legislation-preemption. Other analyses have reached a different conclusion regarding local authority in Michigan. Berman ML. “Raising the Tobacco Sales Age to 21: Surveying the Legal Landscape.” Public Health Rep. 2016;131(2):378–381.
Alabama, Alaska and Arkansas have age 19 sales restrictions for tobacco; however, the census does not allow separation of 18 and 19 year age groups, so the 15–17 and 18–19 categories were retained.
There are pending lawsuits in Kansas, Michigan, and Rhode Island, to determine whether local governments have the authority to adopt Tobacco 21 laws. For more information, see: The Topeka Capital-Journal, “Topeka appeals tobacco ruling, requests Kansas Supreme Court hear case.” May 2, 2018 (available from: https://www.cjonline.com/news/20180502/topeka-appeals-tobacco-ruling-requests-kansas-supreme-court-hear-case); Public Health Law Center. Amicus brief in RPF Oil Co. v. Genesse Cty. June 13, 2017 (available from: https://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/amicus-briefs/rpf-oil-co-v-genesee-cty-and-genesee-cty-health-dep%E2%80%99t-genesee-cty-circuit-ct-case-no); Public Health Law Center. Amicus brief in K&W Automotive v. Barrington. June 1, 2018 (available from: https://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/amicus-briefs/k-w-automotive-v-barrington-no-pc-2018-0471-providence-ri-sc-2018).