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The Institute of Medicine serves as adviser to the nation to improve health.
<br />Established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences,
<br />the Institute of Medicine provides independent, objective, evidence-based advice
<br />to policy makers, health professionals, the private sector, and the public.
<br />Copyright 2015 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
<br />500 Fifth Street, NW
<br />Washington, DC 20001
<br />TEL 202.334.2352
<br />FAX 202.334.1412
<br />www.iom.edu
<br />Committee on the Public Health Implications of Raising the
<br />Minimum Age for Purchasing Tobacco Products
<br />Richard J. Bonnie (Chair)
<br />Harrison Foundation Professor
<br />of Medicine and Law,
<br />Professor of Psychiatry and
<br />Neurobehavioral Sciences,
<br />Director of the Institute of Law,
<br />Psychiatry, and Public Policy,
<br />University of Virginia
<br />Anthony J. Alberg
<br />Blatt Ness Distinguished
<br />Endowed Chair in Oncology,
<br />Professor, Public Health
<br />Sciences, Interim Director of
<br />Hollings Cancer Center, Medical
<br />University of South Carolina
<br />Regina Benjamin
<br />NOLA.com/Times Picayune
<br />Endowed Chair in Public Health
<br />Sciences, Xavier University,
<br />New Orleans
<br />Jonathan Caulkins
<br />Professor, Operations Research
<br />and Public Health Policy, Heinz
<br />College of Public Policy and
<br />Management, Operations
<br />Research Department,
<br />Carnegie Mellon University
<br />Bonnie Halpern-Felsher
<br />Professor, Department
<br />of Pediatrics, Director of
<br />Research, Associate Director
<br />of Adolescent Medicine
<br />Fellowship Program, Division of
<br />Adolescent Medicine, Stanford
<br />University
<br />Swannie Jett
<br />Executive Director, Florida
<br />Department of Health in
<br />Seminole County
<br />Harlan Juster
<br />Director, Bureau of Tobacco
<br />Control, New York State
<br />Department of Health
<br />Jonathan D. Klein
<br />Associate Executive Director,
<br />Julius B. Richmond Center of
<br />Excellence for Children and
<br />Secondhand Smoke, American
<br />Academy of Pediatrics
<br />Paula M. Lantz
<br />Professor and Chair,
<br />Department of Health
<br />Policy and Management,
<br />Milken Institute School of
<br />Public Health, The George
<br />Washington University
<br />Robin Mermelstein
<br />Director of the Institute for
<br />Health Research and Policy,
<br />Professor of Psychology,
<br />Clinical Professor of
<br />Community Health Sciences,
<br />School of Public Health,
<br />Institute for Health Research
<br />and Policy, University of Illinois,
<br />Chicago
<br />Rafael Meza
<br />Assistant Professor,
<br />Department of Epidemiology,
<br />University of Michigan
<br />Patrick O’Malley
<br />Research Professor, Institute
<br />for Social Research, University
<br />of Michigan
<br />Kimberly Thompson
<br />Professor of Preventive
<br />Medicine and Global Health,
<br />University of Central Florida
<br />College of Medicine, President,
<br />Kid Risk, Inc.
<br />Study Sponsor
<br />U.S. Food and Drug Administration
<br />Kathleen Stratton
<br />Study Director
<br />Leslie Y. Kwan
<br />Research Associate
<br />Bettina Ritter
<br />Research Assistant
<br />Anna Martin
<br />Senior Program Assistant
<br />Doris Romero
<br />Financial Associate
<br />Rose Marie Martinez
<br />Senior Board Director, Board
<br />on Population Health and
<br />Public Health Practice
<br />
<br />Study Staff
<br />Theodore R. Holford
<br />Susan Dwight Bliss Professor
<br />of Public Health (Biostatistics)
<br />and Professor of Statistics,
<br />Yale School of Medicine, Yale
<br />University
<br />David T. Levy
<br />Professor, Lombardi
<br />Comprehensive Cancer Center,
<br />Georgetown University Medical
<br />Center
<br />Maria Roditis
<br />Postdoctoral Research Fellow,
<br />Adolescent Medicine, Division
<br />of Adolescent Medicine,
<br />Department of Pediatrics,
<br />Stanford University
<br />
<br />Consultants
<br />projected that if the MLA were raised now to 21
<br />nationwide, there would be approximately 223,000
<br />fewer premature deaths, 50,000 fewer deaths from
<br />lung cancer, and 4.2 million fewer years of life lost
<br />for those born between 2000 and 2019.
<br />Conclusion
<br />The public health impact of raising the MLA for
<br />tobacco products depends on the degree to which
<br />local and state governments change their poli-
<br />cies. These decisions will depend on each state’s
<br />or locality’s balance between personal interests
<br />and the privacy of young adults to make their own
<br />choices versus society’s legitimate concerns about
<br />protecting public health.
<br /> The IOM committee makes conclusions about
<br />likely public health outcomes of raising the MLA
<br />for tobacco products. Overall, in the absence of
<br />transformative changes in the tobacco market,
<br />social norms and attitudes, or in the knowledge of
<br />patterns and causes of tobacco use, the committee
<br />is reasonably confident that raising the MLA will
<br />reduce tobacco use initiation, particularly among
<br />adolescents 15 to 17 years of age; improve the health
<br />of Americans across the lifespan; and save lives. F
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