The smoking age is the minimum legal age required to purchase or smoke tobacco products. Most countries have laws that restrict those below a minimum age from legally purchasing tobacco products.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has raised the legal smoking age from 18 to 21. As per FDA “On December 20, 2019, the President signed legislation to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and raise the federal minimum age of sale of tobacco products from 18 to 21 years. It is now illegal for a retailer to sell any tobacco product to anyone under 21.”

CMAAO welcomes this decision and urges all National Medical Associations to urge their respective governments to follow the same. 

In India in 2014 the health ministry set up a committee to recommend amendments to the Tobacco Regulation Act which may suggest raising minimum age for smoking from 18 years to 25, however, the same was never implemented. 

The legal smoking age in different countries are given below:

 Singapore 19

Thailand 20

India 18

Pakistan 18

Sri Lanka 21

Bangladesh 16

Nepal 18

Malaysia 19

Korea 19 (purchasing age 20)

New Zealand 18

Australia 18

Hong Kong 18

Philippians 18

Taiwan   18

Japan 20

Indonesia 18

Dr KK Aggarwal

President CMAAO, HCFI and Past National President IMA