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California Senate votes to raise smoking age to 21

Anomalism

Anomalism

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Do you think this is a good idea? Why or why not?

California Senate votes to raise smoking age to 21 - LA Times

The state Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would raise the minimum legal age for buying cigarettes and other tobacco products from 18 to 21 as part of an effort to reduce smoking by young people. Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) said he introduced the bill, SB 151, out of concern that an estimated 90% of tobacco users start before age 21. Raising the minimum age will mean that fewer teenagers pick up the habit, said Hernandez, an optometrist. He cited a study done by the Institute of Medicine for the federal Food and Drug Administration that concluded that raising the smoking age to 21 would cut smoking by 12% more than existing control policies. “It’s time to stop allowing tobacco companies to make the deadly product so readily available to our youth,’’ Hernandez said.
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Anomalism said:
Do you think this is a good idea? Why or why not?

California Senate votes to raise smoking age to 21 - LA Times
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I'm not sure it will make a difference.....90% of tabacco users start before age 21...I'm sure most of those start before 18 as well.

I think they should just continue to give people information and let them make their own choices and continue to support programs that help people quit.

Smoking has plummeted over the last few decades.
 
Anomalism said:
Do you think this is a good idea? Why or why not?
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No, other posters have already hit on why.

My only addition to this is the concept of government assignment of adult decisions, we are already all over the place on the ideas on when someone is responsible to make a decision for themselves when it comes to driving, smoking, drinking, going to war, entering into a contract, ability to obtain a gun permit, watching a certain movie, buying a certain game, etc. It seems to me that moving smoking from 18 to 21 is a "feel good" bit of legislation with no real plausible impact on when or why one does start smoking in the first place.

This seems to be another case where education on smoking seems to be getting further in impact than legislation on smoking. So, no, not a good idea at all.
 
I think we should legalize weed and outlaw tobacco.
 
iliveonramen said:
I'm not sure it will make a difference.....90% of tabacco users start before age 21...I'm sure most of those start before 18 as well.

I think they should just continue to give people information and let them make their own choices and continue to support programs that help people quit.

Smoking has plummeted over the last few decades.
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i agree with this. Raising the age limit won't deter anything. An 18-21 year old person is not going to have any trouble getting tobacco if they want it. Seems pointless.
 
Deuce said:
I think we should legalize weed and outlaw tobacco.
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I'm not sure who would love this change more, the cartels or Phillip Morris?
 
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Get the goal, but agree with others I don't see it having that much of effect. Personally I'm not really sure if 18 is a great age either, not sure when a good age limit on smoking would be though to be granted. Guess 18 works for ease and being the norm.

Think the best approach is to just lay out the facts, what they do, the risks of smoking, etc. and let them decide if they want to smoke (at 18, though some will start earlier anyways) or not. Never been a big fan of the "Just say no!" "don't do it, it's bad!" type stuff as I've gotten older. Legal concerns played a big part in growing up and not partaking, but not sure if those were the primary reason or just knowledge of what some drugs did and the risks played more into it. Anyways, long was to say that a lot of my feelings on the best approach come more from my own experience then actual data =p.
 
iliveonramen said:
I'm not sure it will make a difference.....90% of tabacco users start before age 21...I'm sure most of those start before 18 as well.

I think they should just continue to give people information and let them make their own choices and continue to support programs that help people quit.

Smoking has plummeted over the last few decades.
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True, and its policies like this that have accounted for that. I say to continue the war on smoking.
 
Montecresto said:
Actually it would hurt them both.
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Nope. The cartel would start smuggling tobacco which they could grow legally in their country and Phillip Morris would start growing marijuana.

And while the pot heads are deluding themselves Phillip Morris could start retreading old ad slogans!

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jmotivator said:
Nope. The cartel would start smuggling tobacco which they could grow legally in their country and Phillip Morris would start growing marijuana.

And while the pot heads are deluding themselves Phillip Morris could start retreading old ad slogans!

View attachment 67185198
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Cigarettes are already at smugglers prices and have you checked out the green fields in California on google earth?
 
jmotivator said:
I'm not sure who would love this change more, the cartels or Phillip Morris?
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Phillip Morris. I would bet money they have a whole game plan set up and ready to go the second MJ becomes legal federally. Probably in a glass box labeled "break in case of 420"

The cartels, on the other hand, would lose a Crapload of revenue. Although I bet tobacco "importing" would increase dramatically.
 
Another law aimed at business enforcing government laws. There is no penalty for smoking, just a prohibition for selling them. If this state legislator wants to create a law, then include enforcement measures against the smoker. If that makes the bill so unpopular that it doesn't pass, then good!
 
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