France: People of any age can smoke in France. However, it is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18-years-old. Before 2009, the minimum age to buy tobacco in France was 16-years-old.

Outliers. Iraq, Palestine and Egypt are among the countries with the lowest stipulated age limit – 14. And in three countries – Antigua and Babuda, Belize (both in the Americas) and Gambia (Africa) – there is no age limit at all.

States in bold passed their legislation prior to the federal minimum age of sale increase.

• Hawaii (effective 1/1/16)
• California (effective 6/9/16)
• New Jersey (effective 11/1/17)
• Oregon (effective 1/1/18)
• Maine (effective 7/1/18)
• Massachusetts (effective 12/31/18)
• Illinois (effective 7/1/19)
• Virginia (effective 7/1/19)

A two-year-old Chinese boy is thought to be the world’s youngest smoker. Tong Liangliang was taught how to light up by his father, who believed the habit would alleviate pain caused by a hernia. The toddler now smokes a pack of cigarettes a day and throws a tantrum if he can’t get his fix.

Duke and his American Tobacco Company (Chandler 1977). During that century, referred to as “The Cigarette Century” (Brandt 2007), there was a sharp rise in tobacco consumption to a peak in the 1960s and then a decline that has continued over the last three decades.

In 1950s America cigarette smoking was the epitome of cool and glamour. Hollywood icons such as James Dean and Humphrey Bogart were never without one. By the late 1950s around half of the population of industrialised nations smoked – in the UK up to 80% of adults were hooked.

As of 2019, the U.S. states with the highest smoking rates included West Virginia, Kentucky, and Louisiana. In West Virginia, around a quarter of all adults smoked as of this time….U.S. states with the highest smoking rates among adults in 2019.

In the 1960s, smoking was widely accepted: An estimated 42 percent of Americans were regular smokers. As evidence mounted that tobacco was linked to cancer, heart disease, and other serious health problems, policies were enacted to reduce smoking.

Cigarettes were actively marketed to younger people, they were largely socially acceptable and, as Apollonio and Glantz report, by the 1960s the tobacco industry had decided that 18 was a reasonable limit to fight to maintain.

After a steep increase in cigarette use rates over the first half of the 20th century, adult smoking prevalence rates started declining from their peak reached in 1964.

A survey of smoking habits for 1964‐66 showed that 52.4 percent of American men over 21 were smokers. This dropped to 42.2 percent in 1970 and 39.3 percent in 1975. Among adult women, the trend was upward from 32.5 percent in the mid 1960’s to 42.2 percent in 1970, but sharply down again to 28.9 percent in 1975.

Adult smoking rates dropped from 42% in 1965 to 14% in 2019, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC has not released last year’s data but the Quitline report cited U.S. Treasury Department data showing cigarette sales increased 1% in 2020 after dropping 4 to 5% each year since 2015.

Nicotine is a stimulant, which may have properties similar to stimulant medications (e.g., Ritalin) used to treat ADHD. Nicotine may increase attention and reduce hyperactivity and impulsivity and, thus, may regulate behavior in individuals with ADHD.

Self-reported adult smoking peaked in 1954 at 45%, and remained at 40% or more through the early 1970s, but has since gradually declined. The average rate of smoking across the decades fell from 40% in the 1970s to 32% in the 1980s, 26% in the 1990s, and 24% since 2000.

Tobacco Health Consequences 100 million people died from tobacco use in the 20th century. If current trends continue one billion people will die from tobacco use in the 21st century.