New Jersey raised the legal age to purchase tobacco and electronic smoking devices to 21 from 19, putting it among the first states in the nation to do so.

Republican Gov. Chris Christie, who let similar legislation expire on his desk last year, signed the stricter tobacco regulations into law on Friday.

Assemblyman John DiMaio, a Republican, said the legislation won’t curb underage smoking because people can purchase tobacco in neighboring states or ask an older friend to buy it for them. The law doesn’t impose a penalty on underage smokers, only on the sale of tobacco to those below the new legal age.

“I despise smoking,” he said. “But here we are, once again, writing a bill to protect people from their own stupidity.”

Karen Blumenfeld, executive director of the antismoking nonprofit Global Advisors on Smokefree Policy, said New Jersey follows only Hawaii and California in raising its minimum purchasing age to 21.