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."
The bill's author, Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-Azusa), said the success of the tobacco industry "depends on their ability to market and sell their poison to our kids. It is time that we take a stand."