The smoking age is the minimum legal age required to purchase or use tobacco or cannabis products. Most countries have laws that forbid sale of tobacco products to persons younger than certain ages, usually the age of majority or the drinking age .
This article does not discuss laws that regulate electronic cigarettes.
International law
According to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (article 16):
Laws by region
Africa
Country De jure Notes Legal age to smoke any tobacco products Legal age to buy any tobacco products None 19 It is illegal to sell tobacco products to minors under the age of 19 years. (Chapitre IV sur les problèmes de santé l'article 93: "la vente de tabac ou produits du tabac aux mineurs est interdite".) The legal age to buy tobacco products has been 19 years since June 1984. None 18 It is illegal to sell tobacco to minors under the age of 18. None 18 None 18 It is illegal to sell tobacco to minors under the age of 18. Any person who sells, by retail, any tobacco product, shall display clearly, for the public, a notice to the effect that the sale of any tobacco product to a person under the age of 18 years is prohibited. None 18 None 18 It is illegal to sell cigarettes to anyone under the age of 18. Other tobacco products are not regulated. None None None 18 It is illegal to sell tobacco to a minor. Minors and pregnant women may not smoke in public. None 18 The sale of tobacco products to minors is prohibited. Vendors of tobacco products must visibly and prominently display at their point of sale a notice of prohibition of the sale of tobacco to minors and by minors. 18 18 It is illegal for minors to smoke in public, and for anyone to give or sell tobacco to a minor.(Arrete MinisterielN°1250 Article 1: L'usage, la vente, l'achat et la consommation du tabac, de ses produits et de ses dérivés sont strictement interdits aux mineurs.) None 16 It is illegal to sell tobacco products to a minor under the age of 16 years. A notice with the sale restrictions has to be placed at point of sale. 18The sale of tobacco products to persons under the age of 18 is prohibited. 18 None 18 None 18 "No person may directly or indirectly give, provide or sell any tobacco product to a person under the age of 18." None 18 None 18 None None 18 It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. There is no minimum age to possess tobacco or smoke in public. None 18 It is illegal to sell or supply tobacco to a minor. Minors may not consume tobacco at any public place. None 18 It is strictly prohibited to sell any tobacco product to a person under the age of 18 years. None 18 None None 18 18 A person must be 18 years old to purchase or to smoke cigarettes including any tobacco products as is indicated in Public Health (Restrictions on Tobacco Products) Regulations 1999, Sec. 2(e)(i)). None None 18 None 18 It is illegal to sell or supply tobacco to a minor.No minimum age prior to 14 April 2010. None18 (to enter smoking room or facility) 18 It is illegal to sell tobacco products to a minor. Minors may not enter any smoking room or facility where smoking is permitted by law.No minimum age prior to 17 July 2008. None 18 It is illegal to sell, give or otherwise supply tobacco products to a minor. None None 18 It is prohibited to involve a person under 18 in the buying, selling and exchanging of tobacco and tobacco products. It is also prohibited for the seller to sell tobacco and tobacco products to a person under 18. None 16 None 18 It is illegal to sell or give tobacco to a person under the age of 18 years. (Chapitre III.- Accès aux produits du tabac: Article 17 Il est interdit de vendre ou d'offrir aux mineurs ou de faire vendre ou de faire offrir par les mineurs du tabac ou tout produit du tabac.) 18 None 18 It is illegal to sell or supply any tobacco product to a person under the age of 18. None None 18 It is illegal to sell and give tobacco to anyone under the age of 18 years. None18 (to enter smoking room or facility) 18 It is illegal to sell or give tobacco to a minor. Anyone under the age of 18 may also not handle, store, work or produce with tobacco or within such a facility. 18 It is unlawful to sell or give tobacco products to a minor, and to smoke such tobacco products if the individual is younger than 18 years. None 18 It is illegal to sell or give any tobacco product to a minor. None None 21 It is illegal for a person below the age of 21 to access cigarettes. None 16 It is illegal to sell tobacco to anyone under age 16. No minimum age for consumption and possession in public.No minimum age prior to 1 January 1993. None 18 It is illegal to sell or give tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18. Minors may not sell tobacco.
Americas
Country De jure Notes Smoking age Purchase age 18 None 18 It is illegal to sell tobacco products to minors. None 18 None None 18 No person shall sell or supply any cigarettes, tobacco or tobacco products to a minor. A person selling or supplying any cigarettes, tobacco or tobacco products to a person who appears to be under 25 years of age shall, before selling or supplying them, ensure, by requiring photo identification, that the latter person is not a minor. None 18 The sale of tobacco products to minors under the age of 18 years is prohibited. None 18 It is illegal to "sell Products whose ingredients can cause physical or psychic dependence, even if only through improper use" (...). This also includes tobacco products of any kind. None 18 It is illegal to sell or offer to sell tobacco to anyone under the age of 18 years. It is not illegal for minors to purchase, possess or consume tobacco. Regulations by province and territory:Province/territorySmoking agePurchase ageNotesFederal GovernmentNone18 It is illegal to sell or supply tobacco products to a minor under the age of 18.The minimum age was 16 years of prior to 1994. 18 It is illegal to sell or supply tobacco products to a minor under the age of 18. None19 None18 It is illegal to sell, give, buy for, lend or otherwise provide tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. Parents can provide tobacco products to their children on private property. Further it is legal to supply tobacco to a minor if it is solely for use in traditional Aboriginal spiritual or cultural practices or ceremonies. None19 It is illegal to sell and supply tobacco products to anyone under the age of 19 years. It is also illegal to attempt to purchase tobacco on behalf of, or for the purpose of resale to, a person under the age of 19 years. None19 It is illegal to sell, give or furnish, directly or indirectly, tobacco to a person under the age of 19 years. None19 19 No vendor or employee of a vendor shall sell or give tobacco or a tobacco product to a person under the age of nineteen years. No person shall purchase tobacco or a tobacco product on behalf of, or for the purpose of resale or give tobacco or a tobacco product, to a person under the age of nineteen years. No person under the age of nineteen years may possess tobacco. None19 No person shall sell or supply, or offer to sell or supply, tobacco to a person who is less than 19 years old. None19 No person shall sell or supply tobacco to a person who is less than 19 years old. No person shall sell or supply tobacco to a person who appears to be less than 25 years old unless he or she has required the person to provide identification and is satisfied that the person is at least 19 years old. None 21 No person shall sell or supply tobacco to a person under the age of 21 years. No person shall purchase or attempt to purchase tobacco on behalf of, or for the purpose of resale to, a person under the age of 21 years. It is legal to supply tobacco to a minor if it is solely for use in traditional Aboriginal spiritual or cultural practices or ceremonies. The minimum legal age for tobacco sales was raised from 19 to 21 on 1 March 2020, after a private members' bill passed third reading on 21 November 2019, and Royal Assent given on 28 November 2019. The bill exempted individuals born on or before 1 March 2001. None18 It is illegal to sell tobacco to anyone under the age of 18 years. The operator of a tobacco retail outlet may not give tobacco to a minor. The operator of a tobacco retail outlet may not sell tobacco to an adult, if the operator knows the person is purchasing the tobacco for a minor. None19 It is illegal to sell, lend, assign, give or send tobacco to anyone under the age of 19 years. The minimum age was 18 prior to February 1, 2024. 1919 The Tobacco and Vaping Products Control and Regulation Act, effective 5 March 2020, replaced the 2008 Smoke-free Places Act. The new act includes the regulation of vaping and vapour products. None 18 It is illegal to sell any form of tobacco to a person under the age of 18 years. None 18 It is forbidden for any individual or legal entity to directly or indirectly sell tobacco products and its derivatives in any of its presentations to minors under the age of 18 years. In case of question, one must ask each tobacco purchaser to show that he has reached majority age. None 18 Tobacco products may not be sold to minors. Wholesale or retail vendors of products shall have the obligation, at their own expense, to display posters that are visible, clear and prominently placed on the inside of places of sale, stating that the sale of tobacco products to minors is prohibited. None 18 Minors cannot legally buy tobacco, but stores may sell it to those who look 13 or older. None 18 Tobacco Law, 2007 Part V – Section 10: No person shall sell tobacco to a minor. None 18 It is illegal to sell tobacco to a person under the age of 18 years. None 18 It is illegal to sell or let sell tobacco to or by a minor. None 18 It is illegal to sell or give tobacco to a minor. None 18 It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. Public consumption of tobacco by minors is prohibited. (El decreto 90–97, Código de Salud, indica en su artículo 50) None 18 No tobacco may be sold or furnished to a minor. None 18 None 21 The sale and gifting of tobacco-derived products to persons under 21 years of age is prohibited. None 18 None 18 None 18 None 18 The sale of tobacco products to minors is prohibited. None 18 It is unlawful to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. 18 The sale of tobacco products to/by minors under the age of 18 is prohibited. None 18 Tobacco shall not be sold to or by a child under the age of 18 years. Varies by state 21 Since 20 December 2019, the smoking age in all U.S. states, territories and the District of Columbia has become 21. None 18 It is illegal to sell tobacco to a minor. A clearly legible notice with the sale ban to under anyone under the age of 18 years has to be placed inside and outside the premises. None 18 It is illegal to sell or supply tobacco products to a minor anyone under 18.
Asia
Country De jure Notes Smoking age Purchase age None18 The Tobacco Control Law 2015 explicitly bans the sale of tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18. The law applies to traditional cigarettes, water pipes, hookahs, and naswar (a widely consumed smokeless tobacco).