Raising the legal tobacco age from 18 to 21 could save 50,000 lives

Upping the minimum age for tobacco sales could spare thousands of lives and avert even more premature deaths, research suggests — though the outlook on teen vaping remains dubious.

President Trump on Friday approved a spending bill that would, among other provisions, increase the minimum legal age for tobacco purchases from 18 to 21. The bill also covers e-cigarette products, which have received great scrutiny amid a youth vaping epidemic and an outbreak of vaping-related lung illnesses linked to an additive in some THC products.