California state lawmakers vote to raise smoking age to 21

A person smokes outside.
(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

On Thursday, California's state Senate approved a bill that will raise the legal purchase age for cigarettes from 18 to 21.

If Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signs the age increase, California will become the second state with a smoking age of 21, following Hawaii, the Sacramento Bee reports. The bill, which includes an exemption for active military members, passed with a 26-10 vote. Only one Democrat voted against the measure, Sen. Cathleen Galgiani of Stockton, who said it "didn't make sense" to cause "so many changes to retail markets."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.