David Hyde talks with Dr. Abigail Halperin, physician and faculty member in the School of Public Health at the University of Washington, about the health benefits of raising the age to purchase tobacco to 21.
Public health experts, including Dr. Halperin, say raising the legal age will reduce youth smoking rates in the U.S.
"Pretty much 99 percent of adult smokers become addicted to tobacco before the age of 25, and 90 percent before the age of 18," she said. "So if we can actually delay the time that kids start smoking, they're much, much less likely to become addicted."
