You can add Rhode Island to the growing list of states looking to raise the legal age to purchase tobacco to 21.
State Representative Tereza Tanzi, a democrat from South Kingstown, Narragansett has introduced bill H-5225 which seeks to raise the purchase age from 18 to 21.
A press release from the State House mentions that the American Lung Association believes that the average age a person begins smoking is 20.1 years.
The proposal is cosponsored by 4 Democrats and they are Rep. Mia Ackerman (Cumberland, Lincoln), Rep. Arthur Handy (Cranston), Rep. John J. Lombardi (Providence) and Rep. Shelby Maldonado (Central Falls).
Rhode Island is home to just over 1 million residents over 1,214 square miles and became a state in 1790.
