Hawaii to become first state to raise smoking age to 21

The legal age for cigarette sales is on the way up.

CNN reports Hawaii is poised to become the first state in the nation to prohibit the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products to anybody under age 21.

The legislature passed a bill raising the age limit last week and sent it to Gov. David Ige’s desk. If signed, the law would take effect Jan. 1, 2016.

While the legal age is 18 in 46 states, Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey and Utah already require customers to be at least 19. According to CNN, dozens of cities and towns, including New York, already have raised the minimum legal age for tobacco purchases to 21.

According to a recent report from the Institute of Medicine, barring people under age 21 from buying cigarettes would have significant public health benefits, resulting in nearly a quarter-million fewer premature deaths and 50,000 fewer deaths from lung cancer.

Read more from CNN.