In five weeks, you will have to be 21 to buy tobacco products. Wednesday, the governor of California signed a bill that raises the legal age to buy tobacco for smoking, dipping, chewing and vaping from 18 to 21, effective June 9. The bill includes an exemption for active duty military under 21. Governor Jerry Brown also signed four others restricting where tobacco can be smoked and the sale of electronic cigarettes. Supporters of the laws said they will deter adolescents from the harmful and sometimes fatal effects of nicotine addiction. The Institute of Medicine reports that 90 percent of daily smokers began using tobacco before turning 19.
