On Friday, President Donald Trump signed a $1.4 trillion spending package that included a measure to raise the age for buying tobacco from 18 to 21. The tobacco provision makes it a violation of federal law to sell tobacco to anyone under 21, and applies to all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and vaping cartridges. The law is not immediate; it will go into effect in the summer of 2020 across the country. According to Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 19 states had already raised the legal age to buy tobacco products to 21.

Youth tobacco use has been growing for the first time in mor...