Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is set to introduce landmark legislative reforms to Parliament that will significantly hike minimum legal age limits for access to alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and gambling, in a sweeping bid to shield the nation’s youth from long-term harm caused by substance abuse and risky behavior.
Under the proposed changes, which fulfil a core campaign pledge made by the ruling United National Congress (UNC) ahead of the 2025 general election, the legal minimum age to buy, possess, or consume alcohol and tobacco will jump from the current threshold of 18 to 21. For cannabis and all forms of regulated gambling, the new minimum age will be raised even further, to 25 years old. The overhaul will require amendments to seven existing national laws, including the Dangerous Drugs Act, Tobacco Control Act, Liquor Licences Act, Cannabis Control Act 2022, and Gambling (Gaming and Betting) Control Act 2021, to bring all regulatory frameworks in line with the new age restrictions.
In a public announcement shared via social media over the weekend, Persad-Bissessar framed the reforms as a deliberate, evidence-backed step to protect the nation’s young people, who she described as the future custodians of Trinidad and Tobago. “I am resolute in my duty to protect and safeguard the young people of Trinidad and Tobago, the future custodians of our beloved nation, from the pernicious consequences that result from the use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and other dangerous drugs,” the Prime Minister said.
She emphasized that the new age thresholds are not arbitrary policy changes, but flow from the government’s unwavering commitment to upholding the health, safety and moral well-being of the country’s youth population. Early, unregulated exposure to these substances and activities, she argued, creates grave, long-lasting harm that extends beyond individual users to damage family units and weaken entire communities. Persad-Bissessar specifically noted that underage gambling poses a unique threat to young people’s long-term financial stability, as well as their moral and social development.
The government’s core goal with the legislative overhaul is to strengthen the national legal framework designed to protect young people, curb growing rates of youth substance abuse, and mitigate the well-documented harms linked to early exposure to gambling. “By acting decisively, my Government seeks to ensure that the next generation is afforded every opportunity to grow, learn and succeed without being harmed by early exposure to dangerous substances or risky behaviours,” Persad-Bissessar said.
The Prime Minister reaffirmed her administration’s pledge to both enact and rigorously enforce these new protective measures, framing the reform as a core promise to the nation’s youth. “This is the binding oath of a Prime Minister who is steadfast in my love for our young people,” she added. Ultimately, the reforms are designed to clear the way for young Trinidadians and Tobagonians to thrive and meaningfully contribute to national development, free from the irreversible damage that early substance use and problem gambling can inflict.