document_title: Trinity

question_text: who came up with the doctrine of the trinity

question_tokens: who came up with the doctrine of the trinity

text: Trinity

text: Etymology[edit]

text: The word "trinity" is derived from Latin trinitas, meaning "the number three, a triad, tri". This abstract noun is formed from the adjective trinus (three each, threefold, triple),[27] as the word unitas is the abstract noun formed from unus (one).

text: The corresponding word in Greek is tριάς, meaning "a set of three" or "the number three".[28] The first recorded use of this Greek word in Christian theology was by Theophilus of Antioch in about the year of 170. He wrote:[29][30]

text: In like manner also the three days which were before the luminaries, are types of the Trinity [Τριάδος], of God, and His Word, and His wisdom. And the fourth is the type of man, who needs light, that so there may be God, the Word, wisdom, man.[31]

text: Tertullian, a Latin theologian who wrote in the early 3rd century, is credited as being the first to use the Latin words "Trinity",[32] "person" and "substance"[33] to explain that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are "tres personae, una substantia".[34] While "personae" is often translated as "persons," the Latin word personae is better understood as referring to roles as opposed to individual centers of consciousness.

text: History[edit]

text: The Ante-Nicene Fathers asserted Christ's deity and spoke of "Father, Son and Holy Spirit", even though their language is not that of the traditional doctrine as formalized in the fourth century. Trinitarians view these as elements of the codified doctrine.[36] Ignatius of Antioch provides early support for the Trinity around 110,[37] exhorting obedience to "Christ, and to the Father, and to the Spirit".[38] Justin Martyr (AD 100–c. 165) also writes, "in the name of God, the Father and Lord of the universe, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit".[39] The first of the early church fathers to be recorded using the word "Trinity" was Theophilus of Antioch writing in the late 2nd century. He defines the Trinity as God, His Word (Logos) and His Wisdom (Sophia)[40] in the context of a discussion of the first three days of creation, following the early Christian practice of identifying the Holy Spirit as the Wisdom of God.[41] The first defense of the doctrine of the Trinity was in the early 3rd century by the early church father Tertullian. He explicitly defined the Trinity as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and defended his theology against "Praxeas",[42] though he noted that the majority of the believers in his day found issue with his doctrine.[32] St. Justin and Clement of Alexandra used the Trinity in their doxologies and St. Basil likewise, in the evening lighting of lamps.[43] Origen of Alexandria (AD 185-c. 253) has often been interpreted as Subordinationist, but some modern researchers have argued that Origen might have actually been anti-Subordinationist.[44][45]

text: Fourth century theologian Marcellus of Ancyra attributes an earlier formulation of the Trinity to the Gnostic teacher Valentinus (lived c.100 – c.160), whom he identifies as “the first to devise the notion of three subsistent entities (hypostases) . . . in a work that he entitled On the Three Natures," which he says Valentinus "filched from Hermes and Plato." This statement is problematic, however, in that Marcellus was known for launching unsubstantiated attacks against his opponents,[46] and his statements contradict existing evidence. In the work cited by him, On the Three Natures, the three natures are the three natures of mankind, not Deity.[47][48] Likewise, Irenaeus indicates that Valentinus believed in the pre-existent Aeon known as Proarche, Propator, and Bythus who existed alongside Ennœa, and they together begot Monogenes and Aletheia: and these constituted first-begotten Pythagorean Tetrad, from whom thirty Aeons were produced.[49]

text: Although there is much debate as to whether the beliefs of the Apostles were merely articulated and explained in the Trinitarian Creeds,[50] or were corrupted and replaced with new beliefs,[51][52] all scholars recognize that the Creeds themselves were created in reaction to disagreements over the nature of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These controversies took some centuries to be resolved.

text: Of these controversies, the most significant developments were articulated in the first four centuries by the Church Fathers[50] in reaction to Adoptionism, Sabellianism, and Arianism. Adoptionism was the belief that Jesus was an ordinary man, born of Joseph and Mary, who became the Christ and Son of God at his baptism. In 269, the Synods of Antioch condemned Paul of Samosata for his Adoptionist theology, and also condemned the term homoousios (ὁμοούσιος, "of the same being") in the modelist sense in which he used it.[53]

text: Sabellianism taught that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are essentially one and the same, the difference being simply verbal, describing different aspects or roles of a single being.[54] For this view Sabellius was excommunicated for heresy in Rome c. 220.

text: In the fourth century, Arius, as traditionally understood,[note 1]  taught that the Father existed prior to the Son who was not, by nature, God but rather a changeable creature who was granted the dignity of becoming "Son of God".[55] In 325, the Council of Nicaea adopted the Nicene Creed which described Christ as "God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father".[56][57] The creed used the term homoousios (of one substance) to define the relationship between the Father and the Son. After more than fifty years of debate, homoousios was recognised as the hallmark of orthodoxy, and was further developed into the formula of "three persons, one being".

text: The third Council of Sirmium, in 357, was the high point of Arianism. The Seventh Arian Confession (Second Sirmium Confession) held that both homoousios (of one substance) and homoiousios (of similar substance) were unbiblical and that the Father is greater than the Son. (This confession was later known as the Blasphemy of Sirmium)

text: But since many persons are disturbed by questions concerning what is called in Latin substantia, but in Greek ousia, that is, to make it understood more exactly, as to 'coessential,' or what is called, 'like-in-essence,' there ought to be no mention of any of these at all, nor exposition of them in the Church, for this reason and for this consideration, that in divine Scripture nothing is written about them, and that they are above men's knowledge and above men's understanding;[58]

text: Athanasius (293–373), who was present at the Council as one of the Bishop of Alexandria's assistants, stated that the bishops were forced to use this terminology,[59] which is not found in Scripture, because the biblical phrases that they would have preferred to use were claimed by the Arians to be capable of being interpreted in what the bishops considered to be a heretical sense.[60] Moreover, the meanings of "ousia" and "hypostasis" overlapped then, so that "hypostasis" for some meant "essence" and for others "person".

text: The Confession of the Council of Nicaea said little about the Holy Spirit.[61] The doctrine of the divinity and personality of the Holy Spirit was developed by Athanasius in the last decades of his life.[62] He defended and refined the Nicene formula.[61] By the end of the 4th century, under the leadership of Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus (the Cappadocian Fathers), the doctrine had reached substantially its current form.[61]

text: Gregory of Nazianzus would say of the Trinity, "No sooner do I conceive of the One than I am illumined by the splendour of the Three; no sooner do I distinguish Three than I am carried back into the One. When I think of any of the Three, I think of Him as the Whole, and my eyes are filled, and the greater part of what I am thinking escapes me. I cannot grasp the greatness of that One so as to attribute a greater greatness to the rest. When I contemplate the Three together, I see but one torch, and cannot divide or measure out the undivided light."[63]

text: Devotion to the Trinity centered in the French monasteries at Tours and Aniane where Saint Benedict dedicated the abbey church to the Trinity in 872.[64] Feast Days were not instituted until 1091 at Cluny and 1162 at Canterbury and papal resistance continued until 1331.[65]

text: Theology[edit]

text: Trinitarian baptismal formula[edit]

text:
In the synoptic Gospels the baptism of Jesus is often interpreted as a manifestation of all three persons of the Trinity: "And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.'"[Mt 3:16–17]
Baptism is generally conferred with the Trinitarian formula, "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit".[Mt 28:19] Trinitarians identify this name with the Christian faith into which baptism is an initiation, as seen for example in the statement of Basil the Great (330–379): "We are bound to be baptized in the terms we have received, and to profess faith in the terms in which we have been baptized." The First Council of Constantinople (381) also says, "This is the Faith of our baptism that teaches us to believe in the Name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. According to this Faith there is one Godhead, Power, and Being of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Matthew 28:19 may be taken to indicate that baptism was associated with this formula from the earliest decades of the Church's existence.

text: Oneness Pentecostals demur from the Trinitarian view of baptism and emphasize baptism ‘in the name of Jesus Christ’ as the original apostolic formula.[66]   For this reason, they often focus on the baptisms in Acts. Those who place great emphasis on the baptisms in Acts often likewise question the authenticity of Matthew 28:19 in its present form. Most scholars of New Testament textual criticism accept the authenticity of the passage, since there are no variant manuscripts regarding the formula, and the extant form of the passage is attested in the Didache[67] and other patristic works of the 1st and 2nd centuries: Ignatius,[68] Tertullian,[69] Hippolytus,[70] Cyprian,[71] and Gregory Thaumaturgus.[72]

text: Commenting on Matthew 28:19, Gerhard Kittel states:

text: This threefold relation [of Father, Son and Spirit] soon found fixed expression in the triadic formulae in 2 Cor. 13:14 and in 1 Cor. 12:4–6. The form is first found in the baptismal formula in Matthew 28:19; Did., 7. 1 and 3....[I]t is self-evident that Father, Son and Spirit are here linked in an indissoluble threefold relationship.[73]

text: Fundamental monotheism[edit]

text: Christianity, having emerged from Judaism, is a monotheistic religion. According to Baptist theologian Frank Stagg never in the New Testament does the Trinitarian concept become a "tritheism" (three Gods) nor even two.[74] God is one, and that God is a single being is declared in the Bible:

text:
The Shema of the Hebrew Scriptures: "Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one."[Deut 6:4]
The first of the Ten Commandments—"Thou shalt have no other gods before me."[5:7]
And "Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel and his redeemer the LORD of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; and beside me there is no God."[Isa 44:6]
In the New Testament: "The LORD our God is one."[Mk 12:29]

text: In the Trinitarian view, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit share the one essence, substance or being. The central and crucial affirmation of Christian faith is that there is one savior, God, and one salvation, manifest in Jesus Christ, to which there is access only because of the Holy Spirit. The God of the Old Testament is still the same as the God of the New. In Christianity, statements about a single God are intended to distinguish the Hebraic understanding from the polytheistic view, which see divine power as shared by several beings, beings which can and do disagree and have conflicts with each other.

text: One God in Three Persons[edit]

text:
TheFather
Son
HolySpirit

The "Shield of the Trinity" or Scutum Fidei diagram of traditional medieval Western Christian symbolism

text: In Trinitarian doctrine, God exists as three persons or hypostases, but is one being, having a single divine nature.[75] The members of the Trinity are co-equal and co-eternal, one in essence, nature, power, action, and will. As stated in the Athanasian Creed, the Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, and the Holy Spirit is uncreated, and all three are eternal without beginning.[76] "The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" are not names for different parts of God, but one name for God[77] because three persons exist in God as one entity.[78] They cannot be separate from one another. Each person is understood as having the identical essence or nature, not merely similar natures.[79]

text: For Trinitarians, emphasis in Genesis 1:26 is on the plurality in the Deity, and in 1:27 on the unity of the divine Essence. A possible interpretation of Genesis 1:26 is that God's relationships in the Trinity are mirrored in man by the ideal relationship between husband and wife, two persons becoming one flesh, as described in Eve's creation later in the next chapter.[2:22]

text: Perichoresis[edit]

text: Perichoresis (from Greek, "going around", "envelopment") is a term used by some theologians to describe the relationship among the members of the Trinity. The Latin equivalent for this term is circumincessio. This concept refers for its basis to John 14–17, where Jesus is instructing the disciples concerning the meaning of his departure. His going to the Father, he says, is for their sake; so that he might come to them when the "other comforter" is given to them. Then, he says, his disciples will dwell in him, as he dwells in the Father, and the Father dwells in him, and the Father will dwell in them. This is so, according to the theory of perichoresis, because the persons of the Trinity "reciprocally contain one another, so that one permanently envelopes and is permanently enveloped by, the other whom he yet envelopes". (Hilary of Poitiers, Concerning the Trinity 3:1).[80]

text: Perichoresis effectively excludes the idea that God has parts, but rather is a simple being. It also harmonizes well with the doctrine that the Christian's union with the Son in his humanity brings him into union with one who contains in himself, in the Apostle Paul's words, "all the fullness of deity" and not a part. (See also: Divinization (Christian)). Perichoresis provides an intuitive figure of what this might mean. The Son, the eternal Word, is from all eternity the dwelling place of God; he is the "Father's house", just as the Son dwells in the Father and the Spirit; so that, when the Spirit is "given", then it happens as Jesus said, "I will not leave you as orphans; for I will come to you."[John 14:18]

text: According to the words of Jesus, married persons are in some sense no longer two but are joined into one. Therefore, Orthodox theologians also see the marriage relationship between a man and a woman to be an example of this sacred union. "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." Gen. 2:24. "Wherefore they are no more twain but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder." Matt. 19: 6.[image or "icon" 17:22]

text: Eternal generation and procession[edit]

text: Trinitarianism affirms that the Son is "begotten" (or "generated") of the Father and that the Spirit "proceeds" from the Father, but the Father is "neither begotten nor proceeds". The argument over whether the Spirit proceeds from the Father alone, or from the Father and the Son, was one of the catalysts of the Great Schism, in this case concerning the Western addition of the Filioque clause to the Nicene Creed. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that, in the sense of the Latin verb procedere (which does not have to indicate ultimate origin and is therefore compatible with proceeding through), but not in that of the Greek verb ἐκπορεύεσθαι (which implies ultimate origin),[81] the Spirit "proceeds" from the Father and the Son, and the Eastern Orthodox Church, which teaches that the Spirit "proceeds" from the Father alone, has made no statement on the claim of a difference in meaning between the two words, one Greek and one Latin, both of which are translated as "proceeds". The Eastern Orthodox Churches object to the Filioque clause on ecclesiological and theological grounds, holding that "from the Father" means "from the Father alone".

text: This language is often considered difficult because, if used regarding humans or other created things, it would imply time and change; when used here, no beginning, change in being, or process within time is intended and is excluded. The Son is generated ("born" or "begotten"), and the Spirit proceeds, eternally. Augustine of Hippo explains, "Thy years are one day, and Thy day is not daily, but today; because Thy today yields not to tomorrow, for neither does it follow yesterday. Thy today is eternity; therefore Thou begat the Co-eternal, to whom Thou saidst, 'This day have I begotten Thee.'"[Ps 2:7]

text: Most Protestant groups that use the creed also include the Filioque clause. Its controversial use is addressed in several confessions: the Westminster Confession 2:3, the London Baptist Confession 2:3, and the Lutheran Augsburg Confession 1:1–6.

text: Economic and immanent Trinity[edit]

text: The neutrality of this section is disputed. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met. (June 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: The term "immanent Trinity" focuses on who God is; the term “economic Trinity” focuses on what God does.

text: According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church,

text: The Fathers of the Church distinguish between theology (theologia) and economy (oikonomia). "Theology" refers to the mystery of God's inmost life within the Blessed Trinity and "economy" to all the works by which God reveals himself and communicates his life. Through the oikonomia the theologia is revealed to us; but conversely, the theologia illuminates the whole oikonomia. God's works reveal who he is in himself; the mystery of his inmost being enlightens our understanding of all his works. So it is, analogously, among human persons. A person discloses himself in his actions, and the better we know a person, the better we understand his actions.[82]

text: The ancient Nicene theologians argued that everything the Trinity does is done by Father, Son, and Spirit working in unity with one will. The three persons of the Trinity always work inseparably, for their work is always the work of the one God. The Son's will cannot be different from the Father's because it is the Father's. They have but one will as they have but one being. Otherwise they would not be one God. According to Phillip Cary, if there were relations of command and obedience between the Father and the Son, there would be no Trinity at all but rather three gods.[83] On this point St. Basil observes "When then He says, 'I have not spoken of myself', and again, 'As the Father said unto me, so I speak', and 'The word which ye hear is not mine, but [the Father's] which sent me', and in another place, 'As the Father gave me commandment, even so I do', it is not because He lacks deliberate purpose or power of initiation, nor yet because He has to wait for the preconcerted key-note, that he employs language of this kind. His object is to make it plain that His own will is connected in indissoluble union with the Father. Do not then let us understand by what is called a 'commandment' a peremptory mandate delivered by organs of speech, and giving orders to the Son, as to a subordinate, concerning what He ought to do. Let us rather, in a sense befitting the Godhead, perceive a transmission of will, like the reflexion of an object in a mirror, passing without note of time from Father to Son."[84]

text: Athanasius of Alexandria explained that the Son is eternally one in being with the Father, temporally and voluntarily subordinate in his incarnate ministry.[85] Such human traits, he argued, were not to be read back into the eternal Trinity. Likewise, the Cappadocian Fathers also insisted there was no economic inequality present within the Trinity. As Basil wrote: "We perceive the operation of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to be one and the same, in no respect showing differences or variation; from this identity of operation we necessarily infer the unity of nature."[86]

text: The traditional theory of "appropriation" consists in attributing certain names, qualities, or operations to one of the Persons of the Trinity, not, however, to the exclusion of the others, but in preference to the others. This theory was established by the Latin Fathers of the fourth and fifth centuries, especially by Hilary of Poitiers, Augustine, and Leo the Great. In the Middle Ages, the theory was systematically taught by the Schoolmen such as Bonaventure.[87]

text: Trinity and love[edit]

text: Augustine "coupled the doctrine of the Trinity with anthropology. Proceeding from the idea that humans are created by God according to the divine image, he attempted to explain the mystery of the Trinity by uncovering traces of the Trinity in the human personality".[88] The first key of his exegesis is an interpersonal analogy of mutual love. In De trinitate (399 — 419) he wrote,

text: "We are now eager to see whether that most excellent love is proper to the Holy Spirit, and if it is not so, whether the Father, or the Son, or the Holy Trinity itself is love, since we cannot contradict the most certain faith and the most weighty authority of Scripture which says: 'God is love'".[89][90]

text: The Bible reveals it although only in the two neighboring verses 1 John 4:8;16, therefore one must ask if love itself is triune. Augustine found that it is, and consists of "three: the lover, the beloved, and the love."[91][92]

text: In the "Preface to the Second Edition" of his 1970 German book Theologie der Drei Tage (English translation: Mysterium Paschale), Hans Urs von Balthasar takes a cue from Revelation 13:8[93] (Vulgate: agni qui occisus est ab origine mundi, NIV: "the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world") to explore the "God is love" idea as an "eternal super-kenosis".[94][95]

text: The underlying question is if the three Persons of the Trinity can live a self-love (amor sui), as well as if for them, with the conciliar dogmatic formulation in terms that today we would call ontotheological, it is possible that the aseity (causa sui) is valid. If the Father is not the Son or the Spirit since the generator/begetter is not the generated/begotten nor the generation/generative process and vice versa, and since the lover is neither the beloved nor the love dynamic between them and vice versa, Christianity has provided as a response a concept of divine ontology and love different from common sense (omnipotence, omnibenevolence, impassibility, etc.):[96] a sacrificial, martyring, crucifying, precisely kenotic concept.

text: 1946 Kitamori's Theology of the Pain of God[97] and 1971 Moltmann's The Crucified God[98] are two 1900s books that have taken up the ancient theological idea of theopaschism, i.e. that at least unus de Trinitate passus est.[99] In the words of Balthasar himself: "At this point, where the subject undergoing the 'hour' is the Son speaking with the Father, the controversial 'Theopaschist formula' has its proper place: 'One of the Trinity has suffered.' The formula can already be found in Gregory Nazianzen: 'We needed a...crucified God'."[100]

text: As we will see in the next section, the same problem also arises in terms of the will between the commander/normer/legislator, commanded/normed/legislated and the process between them: is each Trinity's Person lex sui or not?

text: Trinity and will[edit]

text: Roger E. Olson says that a number of evangelical theologians hold the view that there is a hierarchy of authority in the Trinity with the Son being subordinate to the Father. "The Gospel of John makes this clear as Jesus repeatedly mentions that he came to do the Father's will."[101] Olsen cautions, however, that the hierarchy in the "economic Trinity" should be distinguished from the "immanent Trinity". He cites the Cappadocian Fathers, "the Father is the source or "fount" of divinity within the Godhead; the Son and the Spirit derive their deity from the Father eternally (so there is no question of inequality of being). Their favorite analogy was the sun and its light and heat. There is no imagining the sun without its light and heat and yet it is the source of them."[101]

text: Benjamin B. Warfield saw a principle of subordination in the "modes of operation" of the Trinity, but was also hesitant to ascribe the same to the "modes of subsistence" in relation of one to another. While noting that it is natural to see a subordination in function as reflecting a similar subordination in substance, he suggests that this might be the result of "...an agreement by Persons of the Trinity – a "Covenant" as it is technically called – by virtue of which a distinct function in the work of redemption is assumed by each".[102]

text: Political aspect[edit]

text: Richard E. Rubenstein says that Emperor Constantine and his advisor Hosius of Corduba were aware of the usefulness of having a divinely ordained church in which the church authority, and not the individual, was able to determine individual salvation, and threw their support toward the homoousion Nicene formula.[103] According to Eusebius, Constantine suggested the term homoousios at the Council of Nicaea, though most scholars have doubted that Constantine had such knowledge and have thought that most likely Hosius had suggested the term to him.[104] Constantine later changed his view about the Arians, who opposed the Nicene formula, and supported the bishops who rejected the formula,[105] as did several of his successors, the first emperor to be baptized in the Nicene faith being Theodosius the Great, emperor from 379 to 395.[106]

text: Biblical background[edit]

text: From the Old Testament, the early church retained the conviction that God is one.[107] The New Testament does not use the word Τριάς (Trinity)[108] nor explicitly teach the Nicene Trinitarian doctrine, but it contains several passages that use twofold and threefold patterns to speak of God. Binitarian passages include Rom. 8:11, 2 Cor. 4:14, Galatians 1:1, Eph. 1:20, 1 Tim. 1:2, 1 Pet. 1:21, and 2 John 1:13. Passages which refer to the Godhead with a threefold pattern include Matt. 28:19, 1 Cor. 6:11 and 12:4ff., Gal. 3:11–14, Heb. 10:29, 1 Pet. 1:2 and 1 John 5:7. These passages provided the material with which Christians would develop doctrines of the Trinity.[107] Reflection by early Christians on passages such as the Great Commission: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"[Matt 28:19] and Paul the Apostle's blessing: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all",[2 Cor. 13:14] while at the same time the Jewish Shema Yisrael: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone."[Deuteronomy 6:4][109] has led some Christians to question how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are "one". Eventually, the diverse references to God, Jesus, and the Spirit found in the New Testament were brought together to form the doctrine of the Trinity—one God subsisting in three persons and one substance. The doctrine of the Trinity was used to combat heretical tendencies of how the three are related and to defend the church against charges of worshiping two or three gods.[110]

text: Some scholars dispute the idea that support for the Trinity can be found in the Bible, and argue that the doctrine is the result of theological interpretations rather than sound exegesis of scripture.[111][112]

text: According to The New Encyclopædia Britannica: “Neither the word Trinity nor the explicit doctrine appears in the New Testament.”

text: “In order to articulate the dogma of the Trinity, the Church had to develop her own terminology with the help of certain notions of philosophical origin.”—Catechism of the Catholic Church.

text: “The Christian Bible, including the New Testament, has no trinitarian statements or speculations concerning a trinitary deity.”—Encyclopædia Britannica.

text: Dominican priest Marie-Émile Boismard wrote in his book À l’aube du christianisme—La naissance des dogmes (At the Dawn of Christianity—The Birth of Dogmas): “The statement that there are three persons in the one God . . . cannot be read anywhere in the New Testament.”

text: “The impression could arise that the Trinitarian dogma is in the last analysis a late 4th-century invention. In a sense, this is true . . . The formulation ‘one God in three Persons’ was not solidly established, certainly not fully assimilated into Christian life and its profession of faith, prior to the end of the 4th century.”—New Catholic Encyclopedia (1967), Volume 14, page 299.

text: The Encyclopedia Americana says: “Fourth century Trinitarianism did not reflect accurately early Christian teaching regarding the nature of God; it was, on the contrary, a deviation from this teaching.”

text: “The doctrine of the trinity . . . is not a product of the earliest Christian period, and we do not find it carefully expressed before the end of the second century.”—Library of Early Christianity—Gods and the One God.

text: The concept was expressed in early writings from the beginning of the 2nd century forward, and other scholars hold that the way the New Testament repeatedly speaks of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is such as to require one to accept a Trinitarian understanding.[74]

text: The Comma Johanneum, 1 John 5:7, is a disputed text which states: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." However, this passage is not considered to be part of the genuine text,[113] and most scholars agree that the phrase was a gloss.[114]

text: Jesus as God[edit]

text: It should be noted that the expression 'Jesus is God' is not same as 'Jesus as God' as in an example, "Jesus is worshiped as God".

text: The Gospel of John has been seen as especially aimed at emphasizing Jesus' divinity, presenting Jesus as the Logos, pre-existent and divine, from its first words, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."[John 1:1][115] The Gospel of John ends with Thomas's declaration that he believed Jesus was God, "My Lord and my God!"[John 20:28][110] There is no significant tendency among modern scholars to deny that John 1:1 and John 20:28 identify Jesus with God.[116] John also portrays Jesus as the agent of creation of the universe.[117]

text: There are also a few possible biblical supports for the divinity of Jesus found in the Synoptic Gospels. The Gospel of Matthew, for example, quotes Jesus as saying, "All things have been handed over to me by my Father."[Mt 11:27] This is similar to John, who wrote that Jesus said, "All that the Father has is mine."[John 16:15] These verses have been quoted to defend the omnipotence of Christ, having all power, as well as the omniscience of Christ, having all wisdom.

text: Expressions also in the Pauline epistles have been interpreted as attributing divinity to Jesus. They include: "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him"[Colossians 1:16] and "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form",[Colossians 2:9] and in Paul the Apostle's claim to have been "sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father".[Galatians 1:1][118]

text: Some have suggested that John presents a hierarchy when he quotes Jesus as saying, "The Father is greater than I",[14:28] a statement which was appealed to by nontrinitarian groups such as Arianism.[119] However, Church Fathers such as Augustine of Hippo argued this statement was to be understood as Jesus speaking in as to his human nature.[120]

text: Holy Spirit as God[edit]

text: As the Arian controversy was dissipating, the debate moved from the deity of Jesus Christ to the equality of the Holy Spirit with the Father and Son. On one hand, the Pneumatomachi sect declared that the Holy Spirit was an inferior person to the Father and Son. On the other hand, the Cappadocian Fathers argued that the Holy Spirit was an equal person to the Father and Son.

text: Although the main text used in defense of the deity of the Holy Spirit was Matthew 28:19, Cappadocian Fathers such as Basil the Great argued from other verses such as "But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.'"[Acts 5:3–4][121]

text: Another passage the Cappadocian Fathers quoted from was "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host."[Psalm 33:6] According to their understanding, because "breath" and "spirit" in Hebrew are both "רוּחַ" ("ruach"), Psalm 33:6 is revealing the roles of the Son and Holy Spirit as co-creators. And since, according to them,[121] because only the holy God can create holy beings such as the angels, the Son and Holy Spirit must be God.

text: Yet another argument from the Cappadocian Fathers to prove that the Holy Spirit is of the same nature as the Father and Son comes from "For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God."[1Cor. 2:11] They reasoned that this passage proves that the Holy Spirit has the same relationship to God as the spirit within us has to us.[121]

text: The Cappadocian Fathers also quoted, "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?"[1Cor. 3:16] and reasoned that it would be blasphemous for an inferior being to take up residence in a temple of God, thus proving that the Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son.[122]

text: They also combined "the servant does not know what his master is doing"[John 15:15] with 1 Corinthians 2:11 in an attempt to show that the Holy Spirit is not the slave of God, and therefore his equal.[123]

text: The Pneumatomachi contradicted the Cappadocian Fathers by quoting, "Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?"[Hebrews 1:14] in effect arguing that the Holy Spirit is no different from other created angelic spirits.[124] The Church Fathers disagreed, saying that the Holy Spirit is greater than the angels, since the Holy Spirit is the one who grants the foreknowledge for prophecy[1Cor. 12:8–10] so that the angels could announce events to come.[121]

text: The usage of the word "paraclete" (Greek: parakletos) for the Holy Spirit in John 14:16, which can be translated as advocate, intercessor, counsellor or protector,[125] and the Holy Spirit's essence and action characterized by truth, as all three persons of the Trinity are linked with truth (see v. 17),[126] are seen as arguments that he is a divine person; especially that Jesus calls him another counsellor, in this way expressing that the Holy Spirit is similar to himself in regard to our counsel.[127]

text: Old Testament parallels[edit]

text: In addition, the Old Testament has also been interpreted as foreshadowing the Trinity,[128] by referring to God's word,[Ps 33:6] his spirit,[Isa 61:1] and Wisdom,[Prov 9:1] as well as narratives such as the appearance of the three men to Abraham.[Gen 18][129] However, it is generally agreed among Trinitarian Christian scholars that it would go beyond the intention and spirit of the Old Testament to correlate these notions directly with later Trinitarian doctrine.[130][131]

text: Some Church Fathers believed that a knowledge of the mystery was granted to the prophets and saints of the Old Testament, and that they identified the divine messenger of Genesis 16:7,21:17, 31:11, Exodus 3:2 and Wisdom of the sapiential books with the Son, and "the spirit of the Lord" with the Holy Spirit.[130] Other Church Fathers, such as Gregory Nazianzen, argued in his Orations that the revelation was gradual, claiming that the Father was proclaimed in the Old Testament openly, but the Son only obscurely, because "it was not safe, when the Godhead of the Father was not yet acknowledged, plainly to proclaim the Son".[132]

text: Genesis 18–19 has been interpreted by Christians as a Trinitarian text.[133] The narrative has the Lord appearing to Abraham, who was visited by three men.[Gen 18:1–2] Then in Genesis 19, "the two angels" visited Lot at Sodom. The interplay between Abraham on the one hand and the Lord/three men/the two angels on the other was an intriguing text for those who believed in a single God in three persons. Justin Martyr, and John Calvin similarly, interpreted it such that Abraham was visited by God, who was accompanied by two angels.[134] Justin supposed that the God who visited Abraham was distinguishable from the God who remains in the heavens, but was nevertheless identified as the (monotheistic) God. Justin appropriated the God who visited Abraham to Jesus, the second person of the Trinity.

text: Augustine, in contrast, held that the three visitors to Abraham were the three persons of the Trinity.[134] He saw no indication that the visitors were unequal, as would be the case in Justin's reading. Then in Genesis 19, two of the visitors were addressed by Lot in the singular: "Lot said to them, 'Not so, my lord.'"[Gen 19:18 KJV][134] Augustine saw that Lot could address them as one because they had a single substance, despite the plurality of persons.[note 2]

text: According to Swedenborg, the three angels which appeared to Abraham do represent the Trinity, but a Trinity of one being: the Divine Itself, the Divine Human and the Divine Proceeding. That one being is represented is indicated by the fact that they are referred to in the singular as Jehovah and Lord.[135] The reason why only two of the angels went to visit Sodom and Gomorrah is that they represent the Divine Human and the Divine Proceeding, and to those aspects of the Divine belongs judgment, as Jesus declared that all judgment was entrusted by the Father to the Son.[John 5:22][136] The three angels did indeed appear to Abraham as three men, but they are only a symbolic representation of the Trinity, which should not be taken literally as three distinct persons. In the Old Testament, Swedenborg finds the earliest direct reference to a Trine in the Divinity in the account of Moses' encounter with the Lord in Exodus which states, "And Jehovah passed by upon his face, and called, Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious."[Exodus 34:6][137]

text: Some Christians interpret the theophanies or appearances of the Angel of the Lord as revelations of a person distinct from God, who is nonetheless called God.[138] This interpretation is found in Christianity as early as Justin Martyr and Melito of Sardis, and reflects ideas that were already present in Philo.[139] The Old Testament theophanies were thus seen as Christophanies, each a "preincarnate appearance of the Messiah".[140]

text: Impact of Stoic philosophy[edit]

text: In the introduction to his 1964 translation of Meditations,[141] the Anglican priest Maxwell Staniforth discussed the profound influence of Stoic philosophy on Christianity. In particular:

text: Again in the doctrine of the Trinity, the ecclesiastical conception of Father, Word, and Spirit finds its germ in the different Stoic names of the Divine Unity. Thus Seneca, writing of the supreme Power which shapes the universe, states, 'This Power we sometimes call the All-ruling God, sometimes the incorporeal Wisdom, sometimes the holy Spirit, sometimes Destiny.' The Church had only to reject the last of these terms to arrive at its own acceptable definition of the Divine Nature; while the further assertion 'these three are One', which the modern mind finds paradoxical, was no more than commonplace to those familiar with Stoic notions.

text: Artistic depictions[edit]

text: The Trinity is most commonly seen in Christian art with the Spirit represented by a dove, as specified in the Gospel accounts of the Baptism of Christ; he is nearly always shown with wings outspread. However depictions using three human figures appear occasionally in most periods of art.[142]

text: The Father and the Son are usually differentiated by age, and later by dress, but this too is not always the case. The usual depiction of the Father as an older man with a white beard may derive from the biblical Ancient of Days, which is often cited in defense of this sometimes controversial representation. However, in Eastern Orthodoxy the Ancient of Days is usually understood to be God the Son, not God the Father (see below)—early Byzantine images show Christ as the Ancient of Days,[143] but this iconography became rare. When the Father is depicted in art, he is sometimes shown with a halo shaped like an equilateral triangle, instead of a circle. The Son is often shown at the Father's right hand.[Acts 7:56] He may be represented by a symbol—typically the Lamb (agnus dei) or a cross—or on a crucifix, so that the Father is the only human figure shown at full size. In early medieval art, the Father may be represented by a hand appearing from a cloud in a blessing gesture, for example in scenes of the Baptism of Christ. Later, in the West, the Throne of Mercy (or "Throne of Grace") became a common depiction. In this style, the Father (sometimes seated on a throne) is shown supporting either a crucifix[144] or, later, a slumped crucified Son, similar to the Pietà (this type is distinguished in German as the Not Gottes)[145] in his outstretched arms, while the Dove hovers above or in between them. This subject continued to be popular until the 18th century at least.

text: By the end of the 15th century, larger representations, other than the Throne of Mercy, became effectively standardised, showing an older figure in plain robes for the Father, Christ with his torso partly bare to display the wounds of his Passion, and the dove above or around them. In earlier representations both Father, especially, and Son often wear elaborate robes and crowns. Sometimes the Father alone wears a crown, or even a papal tiara.

text: In the later part of the Christian Era, in Renaissance European iconography, the Eye of Providence began to be used as an explicit image of the Christian Trinity and associated with the concept of Divine Providence.  Seventeenth-century depictions of the Eye of Providence sometimes show it surrounded by clouds or sunbursts.[146]

text: Image gallery[edit]

text:
Depiction of Trinity from Saint Denis Basilica in Paris (12th century)

Father, The Holy Spirit, and Christ Crucified, depicted in a Welsh manuscript. c. 1390–1400

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit as a dove, by Lucas Cranach the Elder (d. 1553)

God the Father (top), and the Holy Spirit (represented by a dove) depicted above Jesus. Painting by Francesco Albani (d. 1660)

God the Father (top), the Holy Spirit (a dove), and child Jesus, painting by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (d. 1682)

Pope Clement I prays to the Trinity, in a typical post-Renaissance depiction by Gianbattista Tiepolo (d. 1770)

Atypical depiction. The Son is identified by a lamb, the Father an Eye of Providence, and the Spirit a dove, painting by Fridolin Leiber (d. 1912)

13th Century depiction of the Trinity from a Roman de la Rose manuscript

A Christian version of the Eye of Providence, emphasizing the triangle representing the Trinity

text: Nontrinitarianism[edit]

text: Nontrinitarianism (or antitrinitarianism) refers to Christian belief systems that reject the doctrine of the Trinity as found in the Nicene Creed as not having a scriptural origin. Nontrinitarian views differ widely on the nature of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Various nontrinitarian views, such as Adoptionism, Monarchianism and Arianism existed prior to the formal definition of the Trinity doctrine in AD 325, 360, and 431, at the Councils of Nicaea, Constantinople, and Ephesus, respectively.[147] Following the final victory of orthodoxy at Constantinople in 381, Arianism was driven from the Empire, retaining a foothold amongst the Teutonic tribes. When the Franks converted to Catholicism in 496, however, it gradually faded out.[148] Nontrinitarianism was later renewed in the Gnosticism of the Cathars in the 11th through 13th centuries, in the Age of Enlightenment of the 18th century, and in some groups arising during the Second Great Awakening of the 19th century. Also binitarianism.

text: Modern nontrinitarian groups or denominations include Christadelphians, Christian Scientists, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Dawn Bible Students, Friends General Conference, Iglesia ni Cristo, Jehovah's Witnesses, Living Church of God, Oneness Pentecostals, the Seventh Day Church of God, Unitarian Universalist Christians, United Church of God, The Shepherd's Chapel and Spiritism.

text: Islamic views[edit]

text: Islam considers Jesus to be a prophet, but not divine,[149] and Allah to be absolutely indivisible (a concept known as tawhid).[150] Several verses of the Qur'an state that the doctrine of the Trinity is blasphemous.[151][152]

text: "Say: He is God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.

text: Certainly they disbelieve who say: Surely Allah is the third (person) of the three; and there is no god but the one Allah, and if they desist not from what they say, a painful chastisement shall befall those among them who disbelieve.

text: And when Allah will say: O Isa son of Marium! did you say to men, Take me and my mother for two gods besides Allah he will say: Glory be to Thee, it did not befit me that I should say what I had no right to (say); if I had said it, Thou wouldst indeed have known it; Thou knowest what is in my mind, and I do not know what is in Thy mind, surely Thou art the great Knower of the unseen things.

text: Interpretation of these verses by modern scholars has been varied.[156][157] Verse 5:73 has been interpreted as a potential criticism of Syriac literature that references Jesus as "the third of three" and thus an attack on the view that Christ was divine.[158]

text: Edward Hulmes writes:

text: "The Qur'anic interpretation of trinitarian orthodoxy as belief in the Father, the Son, and the Virgin Mary, may owe less to a misunderstanding of the New Testament itself than to a recognition of the role accorded by local Christians (see Choloridians) to Mary as mother in a special sense."[159]

text: There is also debate about whether this verse should be taken literally.[160] For example, Thomas states that verse 5:116 need not be seen as describing actually professed beliefs, but rather, giving examples of shirk (claiming divinity for beings other than God) and a "warning against excessive devotion to Jesus and extravagant veneration of Mary, a reminder linked to the central theme of the Qur'an that there is only one God and He alone is to be worshipped."[156] When read in this light, it can be understood as an admonition, "Against the divinization of Jesus that is given elsewhere in the Qur'an and a warning against the virtual divinization of Mary in the declaration of the fifth-century church councils that she is 'God-bearer'."[156]

text: Judaism[edit]

text: Judaism traditionally maintains a tradition of monotheism to the exclusion of the possibility of a Trinity.[149] In Judaism, God is understood to be the absolute one, indivisible, and incomparable being who is the ultimate cause of all existence. The idea of God as a duality or trinity is heretical — it is even considered by some polytheistic.[161]


document_title: Smoking age

question_text: what is the legal smoking age in virginia

root

text: Smoking age

text: Smoking age laws by region[edit]

text: Africa[edit]

text:
Country

De jure

Notes

Legal age to smoke any tobacco products

Legal age to buy any tobacco products

 Algeria

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".)[1]

 Angola

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco to minors under the age of 18.[2]

 Benin

None

18

[3]

 Botswana

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.[4]

 Burkina Faso

None

18

[5]

 Burundi

None

18

It is illegal to sell cigarettes to anyone under the age of 18. Other tobacco products are not regulated.[6]

 Cameroon

15

 Cape Verde

15

 Central African Republic

14

 Chad

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco to a minor. Minors and pregnant women may not smoke in public.[7]

 Comoros

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.[8]

 Republic of the Congo

18

[9]

 Democratic Republic of the Congo

18

It is illegal for minors to smoke in public, and for anyone to give or sell tobacco to a minor.(ARRETE MINISTERIEL N°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.)[10]

 Djibouti

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.[11]

 Egypt

18

The sale of tobacco products to persons under the age of 18 is prohibited.

 Equatorial Guinea

18

[12]

 Eritrea

None

18

[13]

 Ethiopia

None

18

"No person may directly or indirectly give, provide or sell any tobacco product to a person under the age of 18."[14]

 Gabon

None

18

[15]

 Gambia

None

 Ghana

18

[16]

 Guinea-Bissau

15

 Kenya

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.[17]

 Lesotho

14

 Liberia

18

It is illegal to sell or supply tobacco to a minor. Minors may not consume tobacco at any public place.[18]

 Libya

None

18

It is strictly prohibited to sell any tobacco product to a person under the age of 18 years.[19]

 Madagascar

None

18

[20]

 Malawi

14

 Mali

None

18

[21]

 Mauritius

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)).

 Morocco

16

 Mozambique

None

18

[22]

 Namibia

None

18

It is illegal to sell or supply tobacco to a minor.[23]No minimum age prior to 14 April 2010.

 Niger

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.[24]No minimum age prior to 17 July 2008.

 Nigeria

None

18

It is illegal to sell, give or otherwise supply tobacco products to a minor.[25]

 Republic of the Congo

14

 Rwanda

None

18

It is prohibited to involve a person under 18 in, 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.[26]

 São Tomé and Príncipe

None

16

[27]

 Senegal

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.)[28]

 Seychelles

18

[29]

 Somalia

15

 South Africa

18

It is illegal to sell or supply any tobacco product to a person under the age of 18.[30]

 South Sudan

15

 Swaziland

None

18

It is illegal to sell and give tobacco to anyone under the age of 18 years.[31]

 Sudan

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.[32]

 Tanzania

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.[33]

 Togo

None

18

It is illegal to sell or give any tobacco product to a minor.[34]

 Tunisia

None

18

[35]

 Uganda

None

21

It is now illegal for a person below the age of 21 to access cigarettes.[36]

 Zambia

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.[37]

 Zimbabwe

None

18

It is illegal to sell or give tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18. Minors may not sell tobacco.[38]

tag: table

text: Americas[edit]

text:
Country

De jure

Notes

Smoking age

Purchase age

 Antigua and Barbuda

None

Antigua and Barbuda doesn't have any restrictions towards selling tobacco to minors or smoking in general.[39]

 Argentina

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco products to minors.[40]

 Bahamas

None

18

[41]

 Belize

None

 Bermuda

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.[42]

 Bolivia

None

18

The sale of tobacco products to minors under the age of 18 years is prohibited.[43]

 Brazil

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.[44]

 British Virgin Islands

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.[45]

 Canada

Regulations by province and territory:

Province/territory

Smoking age

Purchase age

Notes

Federal Government

None

18[46]

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.[47]

 Alberta

18[48]

It is illegal to sell or supply tobacco products to a minor under the age of 18. Further, minors are not permitted to smoke at any public place.

 British Columbia

None

19[49]

 Manitoba

None

18[50]

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.

 New Brunswick

None

19[51]

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.

 Newfoundland and Labrador

None

19[52]

It is illegal to sell, give or furnish, directly or indirectly, tobacco to a person under the age of 19 years.

 Northwest Territories

None

18[53]

No person shall sell or supply, or offer to sell or supply, tobacco or a tobacco accessory to a person under the age of 18. No one under the age of 18 years shall purchase or attempt to purchase tobacco or a tobacco accessory.

 Nova Scotia

19[54]

19[55]

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.

 Nunavut

None

19[56]

No person shall sell or supply, or offer to sell or supply, tobacco to a person who is less than 19 years old.

 Ontario

None

19[57]

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.

 Prince Edward Island

None

19[58]

No person shall sell or supply tobacco to a person under the age of 19 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 19 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.

 Quebec

None

18[59]

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.

 Saskatchewan

None

18[60]

It is illegal to sell, lend, assign, give or send tobacco to anyone under the age of 18 years.

 Yukon

18 (federal law)

The territory Yukon has no legislations which restrict the sale of tobacco products to minors. Federal laws apply.

 Chile

None

18

It is illegal to sell any form of tobacco to a person under the age of 18 years.[61]

 Colombia

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.[62]

 Costa Rica

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.[63]

 Cuba

None

18

Minors cannot legally buy tobacco,[64] but stores may sell it to those who look 13 or older.[citation needed]

 Cayman Islands

None

18

Tobacco Law, 2007 PART V – Section 10: No person shall sell tobacco to a minor.[65]

 Dominican Republic

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco to a person under the age of 18 years.[66]

 Ecuador

None

18

It is illegal to sell or let sell tobacco to or by a minor.[67]

 El Salvador

None

18

It is illegal to sell or give tobacco to a minor.[68]

 Falkland Islands

None

 Guatemala

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)[69]

 Guyana

None

18

No tobacco may be sold or furnished to a minor.[70]

 Haiti

None

18

 Honduras

None

21

The sale and/or gifting of tobaccoderived products to persons under 21 years of age is prohibited.[71]

 Jamaica

None

18

[72]

 Mexico

None

18

[73]

 Nicaragua

None

18

[74]

 Panama

None

18

The sale of tobacco products to minors is prohibited.[75]

 Paraguay

None

18

It is unlawful to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years.[76]

 Peru

18

The sale of tobacco products to/by minors under the age of 18 is prohibited.[77]

 Trinidad and Tobago

None

18

Tobacco shall not be sold to or by a child under the age of 18 years.[78]

 United States(50 states and integral territories)
The federal law requires states to have a minimum age of 18 years for sale/purchase of tobacco products (21 U.S.C. § 387f. (3)(a)(ii)). State and local laws may extend this ban and also prohibit supply, possession and consumption to/by person underage, or increase the age beyond 18. However, most states do not directly ban the consumption of tobacco by a minor. The federal law requiring states to have a minimum purchasing age at 18 is enforced by withholding FEMA disaster and non-disaster grants from states that have purchasing ages under 18, and currently no state falls under that category.

Regulations by state:

State/territory

Smoking age

Purchase age

Notes

 Alabama

19 (including Alabama National Guard Bases) 18 (on military bases under federal law)[79]

It is illegal to sell or give tobacco products to anyone under the age of 19 years. Minors are prohibited from using and possessing tobacco products.The minimum age was introduced in 1896.[80]

 Alaska

None

19[81]

It is illegal to sell or give tobacco products to anyone under the age of 19 years. Possession by minors is prohibited. The minimum age requirement does not apply to a person who is a prisoner at an adult correctional facility.[82]The minimum age of 16 years was introduced in 1978.The minimum age was raised from 16 to 19 in 1988.[80]

 American Samoa

18

 Arizona

None

18[83]

It is illegal to sell or give tobacco products or smoking equipment to anyone under the age of 18 years. It is illegal for a minor to be in possession of tobacco or smoking equipment, or to receive them.

None

21[84][85]

Cottonwood and Douglas have raised their tobacco sales age to 21.

 Arkansas

18[86]

It is illegal to give or sell tobacco to anyone under the age of 18 years. It is illegal for minors to be in possession of tobacco products and to smoke in public.

18

21[87]

Helena–West Helena has raised the sales age for tobacco products to 21.

 California

18[88]

21[89]

As of 9 June 2016, it is illegal to sell or furnish tobacco to a person under 21 years of age, with an exception for people in active military service who are 18 years old. Before 9 June, the age to purchase tobacco was 18 years of age.

 Colorado

18[90]

It is illegal to sell, give or distribute tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. Minors under the age of 18 years are prohibited from being in possession of any tobacco product.

18

21[91]

Aspen has raised the sales age for tobacco products to 21.

 Connecticut

None

18[92]

It is illegal to sell or give tobacco products to anyone under 18. It is illegal for minors to possess tobacco in public.A minimum age of 16 was introduced in 1902.The minimum age was raised from 16 to 18 in 1987.[80]

 Delaware

None

18[93]

Selling, giving or otherwhise distributing tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years is illegal. Minors under the age of 18 years are not allowed to attempt to purchase tobacco or to be in the possession of tobacco products.The minimum age of 17 years was introduced in 1953.The minimum age was raised from 17 to 18 in 1992.[80][94]

 Florida

None

18[95]

The Florida Statutes make it a criminal offence so sell or supply tobacco to an individual under the age of 18 years. Minors may also not be in possession of tobacco products.

 Georgia

None

18[96]

It is illegal to sell or give tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. It is illegal for minors to possess tobacco in public. Minors are allowed to possess tobacco products and to consume those, in private home if permission is given by parents or legal guardian.The minimum age of 17 years was introduced in 1987.The minimum age was raised from 17 to 18 in 1993.[80][94]

 Guam

21

The minimum age was raised from 18 to 21, as of 1 January 2018.[97]

 Hawaii

21[98][99]

It is illegal to sell or furnish tobacco to a person under 21 years of age. It is also illegal for a person under 21 years of age to attempt to purchase tobacco.
The minimum age of 15 years was introduced on 11 November 1890.[100]
The minimum age was raised from 15 to 18 on 1 January 1988.[101]
The minimum age was raised from 18 to 21 on 1 January 2016.[102]

 Idaho

18[103][104]

 Illinois

18[105][106][107]

18[105]

21[108]

Fourteen cities in Illinois, including Chicago and Naperville, have raised their tobacco sales age to 21.

 Indiana

None

18[109]

Giving, selling, providing and distributing tobacco to minors is illegal. Minors may not possess, accept or purchase tobacco. Minors are not allowed to enter a tobacco business, defined in state law as a business whose primary activity is the sale of tobacco products and accessories.The minimum age of 16 years was introduced in 1980.The minimum age was raised from 16 to 18 in 1987.[80]

 Iowa

18[110]

It is illegal for minors to be in possession of tobacco, to smoke in public or to purchase tobacco products. It is illegal to sell or distribute tobacco to anyone under the age of 18 years.

 Kansas

None

18[111]

It is illegal to sell or supply tobacco to a minor. Minors may not possess or purchase or attempt to possess or purchase tobacco.

None

21[112]

Nineteen cities in Kansas, including Overland Park and Olathe, have raised their tobacco sales age to 21.

 Kentucky

None

18[113]

It is illegal to sell or supply tobacco to minors. Minors may not purchase or possess tobacco products. Prior to 1990 Kentucky had no minimum age to purchase tobacco. From 1990 until 1992 the minimum age was 16 years.In 1992 the age was raised from 16 to 18 years of age.[94]

 Louisiana

None

18[114]

It is illegal to sell or distribute tobacco to a minor. A minor is not permitted to possess tobacco, except in private residences or if accompanied by a parent, spouse, or legal guardian 21 years of age or older.Prior to 1991 there was no minimum age limit in Louisiana.

 Maine

18[115]

21[116]

It is illegal to sell or distribute tobacco to a minor. A minor is not permitted to possess tobacco, except in private residences or if accompanied by a parent, spouse, or legal guardian 21 years of age or older. Implementation for 21 and older July 2018.

 Maryland

None

18[117][118]

Minimum age raised from 16 to 18 in 1989.[94]

 Massachusetts

None

18[119]

It is illegal to sell tobacco to minors. Anyone else than the parents or guardian are prohibited from giving any form of tobacco to a minor.

None

21[120]

Over 100 cities in Massachusetts, including Boston, have raised their sales age for tobacco products to 21 years.

 Michigan

18[121]

It is illegal to sell, give, supply or otherwise provide tobacco to minors. Minors may not purchase, attempt to purchase, possess, attempt to possess or consume tobacco products in public. Minors are permitted to smoke on private premises.

18

21[122]

Ann Arbor and Genesee County have raised their tobacco sales age to 21.

 Minnesota

18[123]

It is illegal to sell, give, supply or otherwise provide tobacco to minors. Minors may not purchase, attempt to purchase, possess, attempt to possess or consume tobacco products in public. Indian may furnish tobacco to an Indian under the age of 18 years if the tobacco is furnished as part of a traditional Indian spiritual or cultural ceremony.

18

21[124]

Four cities in Minnesota have raised their sales age for tobacco products to 21.

 Mississippi

18[125]

It is illegal to sell, give, supply or otherwise provide tobacco to minors. Minors may not purchase, attempt to purchase, possess, attempt to possess or consume tobacco products in public.

18

21[126]

Adams County has raised their tobacco sales age to 21.

 Missouri

None

18[127]

It is illegal to sell, give, supply or otherwise provide tobacco to minors. It is not illegal to give tobacco to minors on private premises nor is it illegal for minors to smoke in public.Prior to 1992 Missouri did not have a minimum age limit.[94]

None

21[128]

Twelve cities in Missouri, including Kansas City, St. Louis and Jefferson City, have raised their tobacco sales age to 21.

 Montana

None

18[129]

Sale or distribution of tobacco products to persons under 18 years of age is prohibited, whether over the counter, by vending machine, or otherwise.Prior to 1993 there was no minimum age limit.[94]

 Nebraska

18[130][131]

It is illegal to sell, give or furnish, in any way tobacco to a minor. Minors may not smoke in public.

 Nevada

None

18[132]

 New Hampshire

18[133]

It is illegal to sell, give, supply or otherwise provide tobacco to minors. Minors may not purchase, attempt to purchase, possess, attempt to possess or consume tobacco products in public.

 New Jersey

None

21[134]

No person shall sell, give or furnish to a person under 21 years of age, any cigarettes made of tobacco.The minimum age of 16 years was introduced in 1904.The minimum age was raised from 16 to 18 in 1988.The minimum age was raised from 18 to 19 in 2005. The minimum age was raised from 19 to 21 on 1 November 2017.[80]

 New Mexico

None

18[135]

Prior to 1991 New Mexico had no minimum age.

 New York

None

18[136]

It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years.

None

21[137]

New York City (among others) and come counties have raised the sales age for tobacco products to 21.

 North Carolina

None

18[138]

It is illegal for anyone under age 18 to buy, attempt to buy, to receive, or to use a false or misleading proof of age for the purpose of purchasing or receiving any tobacco product or cigarette wrapping papers.The minimum age of 17 years was introduced in 1891.The minimum age was raised from 17 to 18 in 1991.[80][94]

  North Dakota

18[139]

 Northern Mariana Islands

18

It is illegal to sell and supply tobacco to a minor.

 Ohio

18[140]

None

21[141]

Nine cities in Ohio, including Cleveland and Columbus, have raised their tobacco sales age to 21.

 Oklahoma

None

18[142]

It is illegal to sell, give or otherwise supply tobacco to anyone under the age of 18 years.The minimum age of 18 years was introduced in 1915.

 Oregon

None

21[143]

It is illegal to sell, give or otherwise supply tobacco to anyone under the age of 21 years since 1 January 2018.

 Pennsylvania

None

18[144]

It is illegal to sell, furnish, give or otherwise provide tobacco to a minor. Minors may not purchase or attempt to purchase tobacco products.The minimum age of 16 years was introduced in 1972.The minimum age was raised from 16 to 18 in 1990.[80][94]

 Puerto Rico

None

18

 Rhode Island

18[145][146]

No person under eighteen years of age shall purchase, nor shall any person sell, give, or deliver to any person under eighteen years of age, any tobacco products. No person under eighteen years of age shall use or possess, tobacco in any public street, place, or resort, any tobacco and/or electronic nicotine delivery system in any form.The minimum age of 16 years was introduced in 1896.The minimum age was raised from 16 to 18 in 1988.[80]

18

21[147]

Barrington and Central Falls have raised their sales age for tobacco products to 21 years.

 South Carolina

None

18[148]

It is illegal to sell, give or otherwise supply tobacco to anyone under the age of 18 years. It is illegal for minors to purchase, attempt to purchase, possess, or attempt to possess a tobacco product, or present or offer proof of age that is false or fraudulent for the purpose of purchasing or possessing a tobacco product.

 South Dakota

None

18

Prior to 1989 South Dakota didn't regulate the sale of cigarettes to minors. Only smokeless tobacco products could not be sold to coal minors.

 Tennessee

None

18[149]

It is unlawful for a person who has not attained 18 years of age to possess a tobacco product, to purchase or accept receipt of a tobacco product, or to present or offer to any person any purported proof of age which is false, fraudulent, or not actually that person's own for the purpose of purchasing or receiving any tobacco product.

 Texas

18[150]

It is illegal to sell, give, supply or otherwise provide tobacco to minors. Minors may not purchase, attempt to purchase, possess, attempt to possess or consume tobacco products in public. Exception: The individual younger than 18 years of age possessed the cigarette or tobacco product in the presence of an adult parent, a guardian, or a spouse of the individual or an employer of the individual, if possession or receipt of the tobacco product is required in the performance of the employee's duties as an employee.The minimum age to purchase, possess and consume tobacco was 16 years of age from 1899 to 1989.[94]

18

21[151]

San Antonio has raised its sales age for tobacco products to 21.

 United States Virgin Islands

None

18

[152]

 Utah

19[153]

It is illegal to sell, supply, give or otherwise furnish tobacco products or smoking devices to anyone under the age of 19 years. It is illegal for anyone under the age of 19 years to possess, consume, purchase any tobacco product.

 Vermont

None

18[154]

It is illegal to sell, supply, give or otherwise furnish tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. It is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 years to possess or purchase tobacco products.The minimum age of 17 years was introduced in 1888.The minimum age was raised from 17 to 18 in 1991.[80][94]

 Virginia

18[155]

It is illegal to sell, supply, give or otherwise furnish tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. It is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 years to possess or purchase tobacco products.Prior to 1991 the minimum age to purchase tobacco products was 16 years of age.[94]

 Washington

None

18[156]

It is illegal to sell, give or permit to sell or give tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. It is not illegal for minors to possess or consume tobacco products in public.

 Washington, D.C.

None

21[157]

It is illegal to sell, give or permit to sell or give tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21 years. It is not illegal for minors to possess or consume tobacco products in public. Tobacco use is prohibited at organized sporting events.The minimum age of 16 years was introduced in 1891.The minimum age was raised from 16 to 18 in 1990.[80][94]The minimum age was raised from 18 to 21 in 2016.

 West Virginia

18[158]

It is illegal to sell, supply, give or otherwise furnish tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. It is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 years to possess, consume or purchase tobacco products.

 Wisconsin

None

18[159]

It is illegal to sell, give or permit to sell or give tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. It is not illegal for minors to possess or consume tobacco products in public.

 Wyoming

18[160]

It is illegal to sell, supply, give or otherwise furnish tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. It is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 years to possess, consume or purchase tobacco products.Prior to 1991 Wyoming had no minimum purchase/sale age for tobacco products.[94]

 Uruguay

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.[161]

 Venezuela

None

18

It is illegal to sell or supply tobacco products to a minor.[162]

text: Asia[edit]

text:
Country

De jure

Notes

Smoking age

Purchase age

 Afghanistan

18

It is illegal to sell, give or otherwise furnish tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. It is illegal to smoke or the use of tobacco in public buildings such as hospitals, schools and restaurants.[163]

 Bhutan

Illegal

In 2004, Bhutan became the first country to ban the sale, cultivation, and production of tobacco. People 18 and over may bring a limited amount of tobacco into Bhutan if they pay import duties.

 Brunei

18

It is illegal to sell, give or otherwise furnish tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. It is illegal for minors to possess, buy or consume tobacco products.[164]

 Bangladesh

16

It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 16 years. Any police-officer in uniform or any other person or class of persons duty authorized by the Government has the power to seize and destroy tobacco products of anyone under the age of 16 years whom he finds smoking in public.[165]

 Cambodia

None

18

Any act of selling or distributing all types of tobacco products to persons aged under 18 years or to pregnant women whose pregnancy is obvious or is realized must be punished with six days to one month in prison and a fine of 100,000 riel to 1 million riel.[166]

 China

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco products to minors. No one shall smoke on school or education premises. Weakly enforced to not enforced.No age limit prior to 29 December 2006.[167]

 Hong Kong

18

It is illegal to sell, give or otherwise furnish tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years.[168]

 India

None

18

It is illegal to sell cigarettes or any other tobacco product to a person under the age of 18 years. It is illegal to sell tobacco within a radius of one hundred yards of any educational institution.[169]

 Indonesia

None

18

It is illegal to sell and supply tobacco products to pregnant women or anyone under the age of 18 years.[170]

 Iran

None

18

It is illegal to sell and supply tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. Violation will result in confiscation of tobacco from the minor and a fine for the salesperson.[171]

 Iraq

14

 Israel

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco products to a minor.No minimum age prior to 12 November 2004.[172]

 Jordan

None18 (consumption of water pipes on premises)

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco to a minor. It is also illegal to provide water pipes in cafes, restaurants and similar places.[173]

 Japan

20

It is illegal to supply tobacco to persons under 20 years. It is punishable by a  ¥10,000 fine.[174]

 Kazakhstan

None

18

[175]

 Kuwait

None

21

It is illegal to sell or give tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21 years.[176]

 Kyrgyzstan

None

18

No minor shall sell or be sold tobacco products.[177]

 Lebanon

18

18

It is illegal to sell or distribute tobacco to a minor.[178]

 Macau

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco to a person under the age of 18 years. It is not illegal for a minor to smoke or to obtain tobacco from a person of the legal age.[179]

 Malaysia

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco products to a minor.[180]

 Maldives

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. The retailer must ensure that the buyer is at least 18 years of age. Furthermore, a clearly legible notice has to be displayed at point of sale stating that tobacco sales to minors are illegal.[181]

 Mongolia

21

   Nepal

None

18

It is illegal to sell or distribute tobacco products to minors and pregnant women.[182]

 North Korea

None

17

It is illegal to sell tobacco products to a minor.[183] (The tobacco law does not define the word "minor", but age of majority is reached at the age of 17 years).

 Oman

18

 Pakistan

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco to a person under the age of 18 years. A clearly legible notice with the sale restriction has to be placed at point of sale.[184]

 Palestine

14

 Philippines

18

Only people over 18 may buy cigarettes and tobacco due to the "STOP for Health Act". (Stop Tobacco and Other Products for Health)[185]

 Qatar

None

18

It is illegal to sell cigarettes or any other tobacco to a person unter the age of 18 years.[186]

 Saudi Arabia

18

 Singapore

18

Smoking age in Singapore is currently 18, increasing to 19 by 2019 and 21 by 2021.It is illegal to sell or give, directly or indirectly any tobacco product to a person under the age of 18 years. No minor is allowed to consume or possess any tobacco product in public.[187]

 South Korea

19

20

[188]

 Sri Lanka

None

21

It is the law to sell any tobacco product to a person under the age of 21 years.[189]

 Syria

None

18

It is unlawful to sell or give tobacco to a person under the age of 18 years.[190]

 Taiwan

18

It is illegal to sell or provide tobacco to persons under the age of 18 years. It is illegal to force, induce or use other means to cause a pregnant woman to smoke. It is illegal for a pregnant women or a minor to smoke. No penalty is provided for pregnant women who smoke.[191]

 Tajikistan

14

 Thailand

None

18

[192]

 Turkmenistan

Illegal

In January 2016, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedow reportedly banned tobacco sales in Turkmenistan.[193]

 United Arab Emirates

18

 Vietnam

18

It is illegal for people less than 18 years of age use, buy, and sell tobacco products. It is illegal to sell and supply tobacco product to people less than 18 years of age.[194]

 Yemen

14¿₡₯₠

text: Europe[edit]

text:
Country

De jure

Notes

Smoking age

Purchase age

 Albania

None

18

It is illegal to sell or supply tobacco products to minors under the age of 18 years.[195]

 Armenia

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco products anyone under the age of 18 years. Minors may not sell tobacco products.[196]No minimum age prior to 24 December 2004.

 Austria

16

The minimum age is regulated by each federal state, but is nationwide 16 years. It is illegal in every state to sell or give tobacco products to a person under the age of 16 years as well as the consumption by a person under the age of 16 years in any public place.[197]

 Azerbaijan

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. The packaging of tobacco products must contain a warning that sale to minors is prohibited.[198]No minimum age prior to 1 January 2002.

 Belarus

None

18

(Decree No. 28 of 2002 Section 32. "It is banned to sell tobacco products to citizens (by citizens) of the Republic of Belarus, foreign citizens and individuals with no citizenship under 18 years old.")[199]

 Belgium

None

16

("It is forbidden to sell tobacco products to young people under the age of 16 and advertising for tobacco products is forbidden.")[200]

 Bosnia and Herzegovina

18

It is illegal to sell and gift tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. It is illegal for minors under the age of 18 years to gift, sell and consume tobacco products.[201]The minimum age was 15 years prior to 28 September 2004.No minimum age prior to 9 March 1998.[202]

 Bulgaria

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years.[203]

 Croatia

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco products to minors. It is the responsibility of any salesperson to ensure that no tobacco is sold to minors and therefore to request an ID to make sure that the purchaser is at least 18 years of age. Minors may not sell tobacco products.[204]

 Cyprus

None

18

It is illegal to sell or otherwise provide tobacco products to a minor. "(…)any  person  who  provides  a  tobacco product  to  a  minor  is  guilty  of  offense  and  in  any  case  of  his/her  conviction, he/she shall  be subject to a penalty not exceeding one thousand pounds or to incarceration not exceeding six months and/or to both penalties."[205]

 Czech Republic

None

18

Selling tobacco products to anyone under 18 is prohibited. Sale of tobacco products and tobacco through vending machines is permitted if the tobacco purchase age is not violated. The seller shall place a clearly visible notice displaying the sale restrictions of tobacco to person under the age of 18. A person selling tobacco must be 18 years or older, unless the minor is preparing for a future career in the hotel or tourism industry, as a cook-waiter or salesman. However, it is very easy to get tobacco products for minors as many sellers don't check the age.[206]The minimum age was 16 years prior to 2 September 1999.[207]

 Denmark

None

18

The minimum age was 16 years prior to 1 September 2008.[208]

 Estonia

18

The minimum age to purchase tobacco products or to smoke in public is set at 18. Minors may not be in possession of, or handle tobacco products.[209]

 Finland

18

Prior to October 2010 it was not illegal for minors to smoke in public.The minimum age was 16 years prior to 1 March 1995.[210]

 France

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. Minors under the age of 18 years may not smoke in any school or on school property.[211] Vending machines outside a tobacco shop is prohibited.Prior to 21 July 2009 the minimum age to purchase tobacco products was 16 years of age.

 Georgia

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco products to minors under the age of 18.[212]

 Germany

18

The Protection of Young Persons Act states that children and young people under 18 years of age shall not be sold tobacco products nor should they be permitted to smoke in public. This does not apply to married adolescents.[213]Minimum age was 18 from 10 June 1943 until 1 January 1952.[214]Minimum age was 16 from 1 January 1952 to 1 September 2007.[215]

 Gibraltar

18

It is illegal to sell and furnish tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. Any police officer may confiscate tobacco from a minor in public.[216]The minimum age was 16 years prior to 7 July 2006.[217]

 Greece

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco to minors.[218]

 Hungary

18

It is illegal to sell or supply tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18. It is illegal to smoke under the age of 18. The sale of tobacco is prohibited within 200 m of schools and health care units.

 Iceland

None

18

It is illegal to sell or deliver tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. Minors may not handle or sell tobacco products.[219]No minimum age prior to 1 January 1985.The minimum age was 16 years from 1 January 1985 to 1 October 1996.[220]

 Ireland

18

The sale of tobacco to persons under 18 is illegal. It is illegal to buy or smoke cigarettes if you are under the age of 18.[221]The minimum age was 16 years prior to 27 March 2002.[222]

 Italy

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. Violation is punished with a fine between €250.00 and €1000.00. If the law is violated more than once the fine is increased to €500.00 and €2,000.00 and a revocation of the tobacco license for at least 3 months.[223][224]Minimum age for electronic cigarettes was 16 prior to 1 May 2013.[225]

 Kosovo[a]

None

[226]

 Latvia

18

The sale of tobacco products to persons under the age of 18 is prohibited.[227]

 Liechtenstein

16

It is illegal for anyone under the age of 16 to possess or consume tobacco products.[228]

 Lithuania

18

No minimum age to smoke prior to 1 May 2015.

 Luxembourg

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years.[229][230]No minimum age prior to 1 January 2006.Minimum purchase age increased from 16 to 18 on 1 August 2017.

 Macedonia

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco to anyone under the age of 18 years.[231]

 Malta

None

18

"No person shall sell, supply or distribute by way of compensation or otherwise, any cigarettes, cigars, tobacco, tobacco products or smoking requisites to any person who is under the age of 18 years, or in any manner induce such person to smoke."[232]

 Moldova

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco to anyone under the age of 18 years.[233]

 Montenegro

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco to anyone under the age of 18. A poster with the sale restrictions must be placed at point of sale.[234]

 Netherlands

None

18

The sale of tobacco to persons under 18 is illegal.[235] Smoking of tobacco is prohibited by law in all public buildings and in public transport. As of 1 January 2004 every employee has the right to work in a smoke-free environment. All forms of tobacco advertising, promotion or sponsorship are prohibited.  Smoking remains prevalent in the Netherlands despite these efforts. Tobacco can be bought at every supermarket and at other stores.

 Norway

None

18

No age limit for use of tobacco but no sales of cigarettes or Swedish snus to people under 18 by law.[236] Vending machines are only allowed when they are cited inside an approved store, with a demand of buying a receipt from the cashier first.[236] and imitation tobacco products are not allowed. Cigarette commercials are also strictly forbidden by law. As of June 2004, smoking is prohibited in all public places, including restaurants, pubs and work places.

 Poland

None

18

Minors are not allowed to buy tobacco products.[237]

 Portugal

18

It is illegal to sell or give any tobacco product to a minor as well as the consumption of a tobacco product in any public place by a minor. There is a proposition to ban vending machines in places accessible to people younger than 18.[238] Minimum age was 16 prior to 1 January 2008.

 Romania

None

18

There is a ban on sale of tobacco to those younger than 18. Vending machines selling tobacco are banned. There is no minimum legal age of smoking.

 Russia

None

18

Retail sales of tobacco products to any person under the age of 18 years are an offence.[239]

 Serbia

None

18

The sale to persons under 18 is prohibited. Contrary to that, a lot of salesmen sell cigarettes to minors in Serbia. Acquiring tobacco products is very easy for minors despite the law.

 Slovakia

None

18

Tobacco sales to under 18 year olds are prohibited.[240]

 Slovenia

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco to anyone under the age of 18. ID-Card or passport has to be shown if requested.[241]

 Spain

None

18

It is illegal to sell any tobacco product or other smoking substances (e.g. electronic cigarettes) to a person under the age of 18 years.[242]Minimum age was 16 in most regions prior to 1 January 2006.

 Sweden

None

18

It is illegal to sell or commercially distribute tobacco to a person under the age of 18 years.[243]No minimum age prior to 1 January 1997.

  Switzerland

Regulations by canton:

States/territories

Smoking age

Purchase age

Notes

 Aargau

None

16

It is an offence to sell or supply (except for Parents) any tobacco product to a person under 16 years of age.[244]

 Appenzell Ausserrhoden

None

16

It is an offence to sell or supply any tobacco product to a person under 16 years of age.[245]

 Appenzell Innerrhoden

None

No cantonal regulation towards sale and supply of tobacco products to minors.[246]

 Basel-Landschaft

None

18

Selling any tobacco product to a minor is unlawful. If a customer appears to be under the age of 18 years the salesperson must check a valid ID.[247]

 Basel-Stadt

None

18

Selling any tobacco product to a minor is unlawful. If a customer appears to be under the age of 18 years the salesperson must check a valid ID.[248]

 Bern

None18 (to enter smoking facility or premises)

18

Selling or giving any tobacco product to a minor is unlawful. If a customer appears to be under the age of 18 years the salesperson must check a valid ID.[249]

 Fribourg

None

16

Selling or supplying any tobacco product to a person under the age of 16 is unlawful. If a customer appears to be under the age of 16 years the salesperson must check a valid ID.[250]

 Geneva

None

No cantonal regulation towards sale and supply of tobacco products to minors.[246]

 Glarus

None

16

Selling any tobacco product to a person under the age of 16 is unlawful. If a customer appears to be under the age of 16 years the salesperson must check a valid ID.[251]

 Graubünden

None

16

[252]

 Jura

None

18

It is illegal to sell or supply tobacco to a minor.[253]

 Luzern

None

16

Selling any tobacco product to a person under the age of 16 is unlawful.[254]

 Neuchâtel

None

18

Selling any tobacco product to a minor is unlawful.[255]

 Nidwalden

None

18

Selling any tobacco product to a minor is unlawful.[256]

 Obwalden

None

No cantonal regulation towards sale and supply of tobacco products to minors.[246]

 Schaffhausen

None

18

Selling any tobacco product to a minor is unlawful.[246]

 Schwyz

None

No cantonal regulation towards sale and supply of tobacco products to minors.[246]

 Solothurn

None

16

Selling any tobacco product to a person under the age of 16 is unlawful.[257]

 St. Gallen

None

16

Selling or supplying any tobacco product to a person under the age of 16 is unlawful. If a customer appears to be under the age of 16 years the salesperson must check a valid ID.[258]

 Thurgau

None

16

Selling or supplying any tobacco product to a person under the age of 16 is unlawful. If a customer appears to be under the age of 16 years the salesperson must check a valid ID.[259]

 Ticino

None

18

Selling any tobacco product to a minor is unlawful.[246]

 Uri

None

16

Selling or supplying any tobacco product to a person under the age of 16 is unlawful.[260]

 Valais

None

16

Selling or supplying any tobacco product to a person under the age of 16 is unlawful. Currently the cantonal government is planning to raise the minimum age to 18 years.[261]

 Vaud

None

18

Selling any tobacco product to a minor is unlawful.[262]

 Zug

None

18

Selling any tobacco product to a minor is unlawful.[263]

 Zürich

None

16

Selling or supplying any tobacco product to a person under the age of 16 is unlawful. If a customer appears to be under the age of 16 years the salesperson must check a valid ID.[264]

 Turkey

None

18

 Ukraine

14

18

 United Kingdom

18 (purchase de jure) 16 (public possession & purchase de facto)

 England and  Wales:It is illegal to sell tobacco to anyone under the age of 18.[265] The minimum age to smoke in public is 16 and authorities have the duty to seize any tobacco or cigarette papers in the possession of any person apparently under the age of 16.[266]Minimum age to purchase was 16 from 1908 to 1 October 2007.
No minimum age prior to 1908.

18

 Scotland:  A person who sells a tobacco product or cigarette papers to a person under the age of 18 commits an offence. Any person under the age of 18 who buys or attempts to buy a tobacco product or cigarette papers commits an offence as well as an adult who knowlingly buys a tobacco product or cigarette papers on behalf of a person under the age of 18.[267] Any constable who has reasonable grounds for suspecting that a person in a public place is under the age of 18, and in possession of a tobacco product or cigarette papers may require the person to surrender the tobacco product.[268]Minimum age was 16 prior to 30 September 2007.

18

Northern Ireland:A person who sells to a person under the age of 18 any tobacco or cigarette papers, whether for his own use or not, shall be guilty of an offence. A member of the Police Service of Northern Ireland may seize any tobacco or cigarette papers in the possession of any person apparently under the age of 18 whom he finds smoking in any street or public place.[269]Minimum age was 16 prior to 1 September 2008.

text: ^ Disputed.

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text: Oceania[edit]

text:
Country

De jure

Notes

Smoking age

Purchase age

 Australia

Regulations by state/territory:

Province/territory

Smoking age

Purchase age

Notes

 Australian Capital Territory

None

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco products to a person under the age of 18 years.[270] Further it is illegal to buy a tobacco product for a minor.[271]

 New South Wales

None

18

It is illegal to sell any tobacco or non-tobacco smoking product to a person who is under the age of 18 years.[272]

 Northern Territory

None

18

It is illegal to sell any tobacco product to a minor or on behalf of a minors. It is illegal to smoke in a vehicle with a person under the age of 18 years present.[273][274]

 Queensland

None

18

It is illegal for an adult to supply a tobacco product to a person under the age of 18 years; however, a responsible adult for a child does not commit an offence by supplying a smoking product to the child.[275]

 South Australia

None

18

It is an offence to supply any tobacco product to a person under the age of 18 years.[276]

 Tasmania

None

18

It is illegal to sell or supply tobacco to a person under the age of 18 years.Minimum age was 16 prior to 1 January 1997.[277]

 Victoria

None

18

It is illegal to supply tobacco to a minor. Smoking in a vehicle with a person under 18 present is an offence.[278]

 Western Australia

None

18

It is illegal to sell, deliver or supply tobacco or smoking implement to a minor. Purchase on behalf of people under 18 prohibited.[279][280]

 Fiji

None

18

It is illegal to sell and supply tobacco to a minor.[281]

 Micronesia, Federated States of

18

It is illegal to sell and supply tobacco to a minor.

 New Zealand

None

18

It is illegal to sell and supply tobacco to a minor under 18 years.[282]No minimum age prior to 1903.Minimum age of 15 years from 1903 to 1988.Minimum age of 16 years from 1988 to 1998.[283][284]'

 Palau

None

1821 (Only rolling papers and elaus)

It is illegal to sell or give tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18 years. If the purchaser appears to be under the age of 30 years, ID must be checked before sale. It is illegal to employ anyone under the age of 21 handling tobacco products. It is illegal to sell rolling papers and elaus to anyone under the age of 21 years.[285]

 Papua New Guinea

None

18

It is illegal to sell or give tobacco to a person under the age of 18 years.[286]

 Samoa

21

It is illegal to sell tobacco to anyone under the age of 21 years. It is not illegal for a person under the age of 21 years to possess or smoke tobacco in public.[287]

 Solomon Islands

None

18

It is illegal to sell, give or otherwise supply tobacco to a minor.[288]

 Tonga

None

18

It is illegal to sell, give or otherwise supply tobacco to a minor.[289]

 Tokelau

16

It is illegal for a person under 16 to smoke tobacco.[290]

 Vanuatu

18

It is illegal to sell tobacco to a persons under 18. It is illegal for persons under 18 to smoke tobacco.[291]

text: Historical regulations[edit]

text:
Minimum age to purchase tobacco in the European Union as of 1995:   Minimum age is 18  Minimum age is 16  No minimum age

Minimum age to purchase tobacco in the USA as of 1989:[292]   Minimum age is 19  Minimum age is 18  Minimum age is 17  Minimum age is 16  No minimum age

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