(VIDEO) Age to Purchase Tobacco Going Up to 21 This Week in Chicago

The minimum age in Chicago for purchasing cigarettes and other tobacco products is increasing to 21 at the end of the week.

The city on Friday joins roughly 170 local jurisdictions around the country that have implemented the change, including New York City and Boston. Health advocates have pushed the policy to discourage teenagers from starting a harmful habit early.

Hawaii and California have increased the tobacco purchase age to 21 statewide. Illinois lawmakers are considering a similar policy.

The Chicago City Council approved the age raise in March, along with higher taxes and other endeavor to battle tobacco sales.

The City Council approved Mayor Rahm Emanuel's set of tobacco reforms in mid-March after he amended his original proposal to include higher taxes on chewing tobacco, cigars and loose tobacco.

City agencies have been working with licensed tobacco retailers to tell them them about the new requirement that anyone buying tobacco products be at least 21-years-old.

Taxes imposed on cigars, pipe tobacco, smokeless tobacco and smoking tobacco will be as follows:

-1.80 per ounce of smoking tobacco
-$0.60 per ounce of pipe tobacco
-$0.20 per little cigar
-$0.20 per large cigar

Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of death and disease in the United States. Cigarette smoking kills more than 480,000 Americans every year, with more than 41,000 of these deaths from exposure to secondhand smoke.

In 2014, an estimated 16.8% (40.0 million) U.S. adults were current cigarette smokers.