Explaining the Rapid Adoption of Tobacco 21 Policies in the United States.

POLICY diffusion; TOBACCO products; HEALTH policy; SMOKING statistics; TOBACCO use among youth; U.S. states; TOBACCO laws

NEEDHAM (Mass.); UNITED States

An editorial is provided which discusses the policy diffusion throughout the U.S. of the Needham, Massachusetts policy of selling tobacco products to people 21 or older, known as Tobacco 21 (T21). The impact of the T21 policies on decreasing U.S. youth smoking rates, including in regard to the U.S. Southern states' fewer T21 policies and higher rates of smoking, is discussed.