Heath officials applauded a proposed law to raise the legal age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21, telling the territory’s senators Wednesday that it would help limit access for people most susceptible to the drug’s well-documented adverse health effects and addictive qualities.
The change would also bring the Virgin Islands in line with federal standards in place since 2019, said Horace Graham Jr., Licensing and Consumer Affairs Department assistant commissioner. Graham told the Senate’s Committee on Health, Hospitals, and Human Services that tobacco sales rule enforcement would be a point of emphasis going forward.
Justa Encarnacion, commissioner of the Virgin Islands Health Department, said businesses that fail to comply with existing laws may be threatened with closure. She said reducing tobacco-related illnesses — including devastating cancers and long-term debilitations — would help lower the territory’s health care costs. Creating a generation of healthy, tobacco-free Virgin Islanders would go a long way.
“The developing brains of young people are more vulnerable to nicotine addiction, and starting tobacco use at an early age increases the likelihood of long-term dependence. By raising the age limit to 21, the policy would help delay the age at which individuals may start using tobacco, reducing the risk of nicotine addiction in the USVI,” Encarnacion said. “Over time, fewer smoking-related health issues would mean lower public healthcare expenditures, as well as reduced costs for families affected by tobacco-related illnesses.”
Sen. Ray Fonsecca, who sponsored the bill, said 95 percent of adult smokers started before 21. The habit usually doesn’t become daily for those who start in their 20s, compared to those who start as teens.
Two teens at the hearing agreed raising the age to purchase tobacco was a good idea. Micah Crawford, chair of the Youth Health Equity Project, and Alilia Hantz, chair of the Youth Coalition and Drug Free Coalition of Adolescents and Young Adults, said they warned friends about the dangers of tobacco, which can stunt physical and mental growth.
Crawford said his messaging was not as successful as hoped, with some young people showing interest in learning about tobacco’s debilitating effects and others not paying much attention at all.
One worrying concern was leaf tobacco, known as fonta, commonly rolled with cannabis.
“As a youth coalition, we target tobacco use because of the significant amount that is generally used in the youth population. More youths, ranging in ages from 12-17 generally use fonta and marijuana as an escape from their reality,” Crawford said. “Considering that the brain isn’t fully developed until 25 years of age, using tobacco could interfere with comprehension skills, which I often see occurring.”
Hantz said raising the age limit would likely reduce peer-to-peer sharing of tobacco as few people her age socialized with 21-year-olds.
Senators voted to advance the tobacco bill, Bill No. 35-0289.
The committee also heard concerns about diabetes rates in the territory. Fonseca and the health experts urged early detection and treatment for the disease that causes sugar to build up in the blood, which damages blood vessels and can cause irreversible blindness, other organ failure, nerve damage, severe problems in the feet and the need for amputations, and even death.
Julia Sheen, executive director of the St. Croix-based Virgin Islands Diabetes Center of Excellence, said her 33-year-old brother died of diabetes complications in 2021.
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder some children develop early in life. Type 1 accounts for about five percent of people with diabetes, Sheen said. Type 2 is often associated with poor diet but can also be caused by genetic conditions, infections, or drug use.
In 2021, almost 14.9 percent of U.S. Virgin Islands residents had diabetes or were pre-diabetic. In 2022, that number rose to 15.3 percent, and in 2023, 16.6 percent of Virgin Islanders were affected by diabetes, Encarnacion said. On the mainland, the rate is roughly 12 percent. It’s the sixth leading cause of death in the territory.
Almost 80 percent of the 2,210 people seen at the Diabetes Center of Excellence were overweight, she said, and roughly 50 percent were considered obese.
Health officials urged replacing sugary and fried foods with non-starchy vegetables, lean proteins, and fruit. Sugar-heavy drinks like Coca-Cola and other sodas should be replaced by water.
Sen. Kenneth Gittens said a single Vitamalt contains more sugar than the American Heart Association recommends for an entire day.
“We are literally eating ourselves to death in some instances,” Gittens said.
Encarnacion and Sheen said diabetes was a “silent epidemic.”
