(CNN) New Jersey is set to become the third state to raise its smoking age to 21, after Republican Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill Friday that hikes the minimum age to buy tobacco products from 19.

We "are giving young people more time to develop a maturity and better understanding of how dangerous smoking can be and that it is better to not start smoking in the first place," Christie said in a statement . "My mother died from the effects of smoking, and no one should lose their life due to any addictive substance."