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ASTHMA &
ALLERGIES

A Medical Student’s Call to Action

to Support Tobacco 21

By Sammar Ghannam

San Antonio is the only city in Texas leading an effort towards protecting its residents

from the single largest cause of preventable death and disease. 1

What’s the issue? Why is Tobacco 21 important?
The issue is that even though smoking may seem like a harmless In October 2017, the San Antonio Metropolitan Health Dis-
way to decrease stress, it is extremely harmful to one’s health. Ac- trict formally requested that the City Council raise the legal age
cording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21 years. This approach
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causes disease, increases the risk for certain cancers, and negatively makes sense since 9 out of 10 smokers (90%) start smoking by
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effects almost every organ system. Smoking is causing much dam- age 18. Since 90% of smokers begin smoking by age 18, raising
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age: 16 million Americans suffer from a disease associated with the legal tobacco purchasing age will interrupt this pattern. This
smoking. 480,000 deaths annually in the United States are linked ordinance will reduce the prevalence of smoking in future gen-
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to smoking. 1 erations and decrease morbidity and mortality. 5
Smoking does not only affect us at an individual level but also On January 11, 2018, the San Antonio city council voted to ap-
affects the nation’s economy. Bunn et al. found that smokers prove the ordinance to raise the legal tobacco purchasing age from
missed more days of work and were more unproductive than 18 to 21 years. More than 270 localities nationwide have already
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nonsmokers or former smokers. A loss of 2623 dollars/year was passed a Tobacco 21 law. The ordinance will be put in effect Oc-
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observed for nonsmokers, 3246 for former smokers, and 4430 tober 1, 2018.
for current smokers was reported. 2
22 San Antonio Medicine • October 2018