A new report released on Thursday shows that if legal age to buy cigarette is increased to 21 years then it can help in reducing smoking rate and would also save hundreds of thousands of lives by the end of the century.

Majority of the US states allow people to buy cigarettes at age 18. However, there are four states, Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey and Utah that allow tobacco to be sold only to those who are 19 years old and above.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said that 58 localities in seven states do not allow the sale of cigarettes to people under-21 years of age. As per the law passed in 2009, the Food and Drug Administration has the authority to regulate tobacco.

The law bans the agency to not increase the legal buying age for tobacco older than 18. But there is a need that the FDA should go through the consequences of not changing the age. It shall however, be noted that the report does not suggest any actions or policy changes.

But the report stated that if all states do not provide cigarettes to those under 21 then smoking rate would fall 12%. It will prevent 249,000 premature deaths in the generation born between 2000 and 2019 and 45,000 fewer deaths from lung cancer.

The change would also prevent 286,000 premature births, 483,000 cases of low birth weight and 4,000 cases of sudden infant death syndrome. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that around 18% of adults smoke.

As per the Surgeon General, around 5.6 million young people living today will die prematurely from smoking. “With 2,800 youth trying their first cigarette every day and many using multiple tobacco products, powerful interventions are needed to keep youth from lifelong addictions to these deadly products”, affirmed Chris Hansen, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.