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Smoking laws dictate legal age for purchase and consumption of tobacco products, as well as where smoking is allowed. These laws vary by country and state, and are often contested. Age requirements vary globally, while smoking bans in public places are common. Some smokers protest these laws as an infringement on individual liberties.
In general, smoking laws typically dictate who is permitted to legally purchase and smoke tobacco-containing products, or where such products may legally be smoked. The “who” of smoking is often indicated by a specific age, which can be set either at the federal level for an entire country or at specific state or provincial levels. Similarly, the “where” of smoking may also be governed by federal laws, such as in Germany and Canada, or by state-level laws such as in the United States (USA) and Australia. A country’s or state’s smoking laws can often be quite hotly contested, and debate about the legitimacy of those laws is common.
Age is a fairly common deciding factor in smoking laws that dictate who can legally smoke. There is no global standard on the age required to legally purchase or smoke tobacco products, and in some regions there may be two different ages required for purchase and smoking. For example, in Japan smoking laws set the age required to purchase and smoke tobacco at 20, while in France it is only 16. In Ireland a person can legally smoke at 16 but must be 18 to purchase tobacco, and laws in Sweden only state a legal age for tobacco purchase but do not set the age for consumption.
Throughout the United States, smoking laws state age requirements for the purchase and use of tobacco on a state-by-state basis. The federal age for purchasing and smoking tobacco is generally considered to be 18, but states may legally permit smoking under the age of 18, but then they will not receive emergency money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA). In some states, it may be illegal to buy tobacco if you are under the age of 18, but it is legal to smoke it, or it is legal only under the supervision of a parent or guardian.
There are also many smoking laws that address where a person can legally smoke. As long as a person is of legal age, he may smoke wherever local, state or federal laws dictate that he may smoke. Many countries around the world have smoking bans in public places such as restaurants, bars, museums, retail stores and workplaces. Some states within countries may also have individual smoking laws regarding where someone can smoke.
In the United States, for example, these laws are usually state laws and not federal laws, and their enforcement can sometimes be questionable. While most anti-smoking organizations claim that smoking bans do not negatively impact business in bars or restaurants, many bar owners claim otherwise and have started looking for forms of exemption from smoking bans. Many smokers protest smoking bans as an infringement on individual liberties, and smokeasies have often been set up as bars or restaurants that allow smoking even if they violate anti-smoking laws.
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