The smoking age is the minimum legal age required to purchase or use

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

products. Most countries have laws that forbid sale of tobacco products to persons younger than certain ages, usually the

age of majority The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when minors cease to be considered such and assume legal control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the contr ...

. This article does not discuss laws that regulate electronic cigarettes.

Laws by region

Africa

Americas

Verkaufsalter für Tabakwaren in Nordamerika

Asia

Europe

Oceania

Historical regulations

File:Verkaufsalter für Tabakwaren in Europa (im Jahr 1995).svg, Minimum age to purchase tobacco in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

as of 1995:
File:Verkaufsalter für Tabakwaren in Nordamerika (im Jahr 1989).svg, Minimum age to purchase tobacco in the USA as of 1989:
File:Smoking Age - USA before December 2019.svg, Minimum age to purchase tobacco in the US prior to December 20, 2019:

Cannabis age

Since 2012, various jurisdictions throughout the world have legalized

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...

for recreational use. In

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and cannabis-legal jurisdictions in the United States, the legal age to possess or purchase cannabis is identical to the tobacco purchase age (18 in Mexico and Uruguay and 21 in the United States). In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, the legal age to possess or purchase cannabis is 19 in all provinces and territories except

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

(18) and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

(21). There are therefore three Canadian provinces (Manitoba, Quebec and Saskatchewan) and two territories (the Northwest Territories and Yukon) where the age to purchase tobacco is lower than the age to possess and purchase cannabis, and one province (Prince Edward Island) where the tobacco purchase age is higher. Prior to December 2019, when the United States raised its tobacco purchase age to 21 in all states and territories, several U.S. states had tobacco purchase ages lower than their cannabis possession and purchase ages.

References

{{Cigarettes Age Juvenile law Law-related lists Lists by country Minimum ages