Even if you’re under the legal age of 21 to buy cigarettes in New Jersey, a new study finds that won’t stop many stores from selling them to you. The alarming findings come from Rutgers University research which found underage buyers aged between 18 to 20 successfully bought cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products on more than 40% of their visits to stores. Even those who were carded and found to be underage still had some success in buying cigarettes.
The finding comes on the heels of a study released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that showed teen vaping remains a serious public health problem, with more than 2 .5 million teens reporting they used the product within the last month.
Assistant Professor Mary Hrywna of the Rutgers School of Public Health, the lead author of the Rutgers study, discusses the report’s results.
