New York City Council raises age to buy cigarettes to 21

[Tetro Kornbluth]

"Pro-choice" Democrats who support these types of things remind of "pro-life" Republicans who support the death penalty. I mean, if you're really concerned about the public health risk, then you could make an argument for banning smoking in public places. But prohibiting individuals from doing what they please to their own bodies is just wrong, plain and simple.

Hurrr hurrr hurrr... LIEBRALS SO HYPOCRITES!1111!

Ftr, I would be against this as I tend to think that the age of voting, the age to join the army and the age of being allowed to consume health destroyed chemicals for the lulz should be the same.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

the tobacco black market has more to do with trafficking cigarettes from lower-tax jurisdictions into higher-tax jurisdictions.  tobacco is extremely difficult to actually cultivate illicitly, it is a very capital-intensive process, as opposed to marijuana which anyone can grow in their closet or backyard.  (Chomsky argues that this is the actual reason that tobacco is legal and marijuana illegal -- it would be hard to accumulate capital in the cultivation of marijuana because it's so easy to do, while we have to lean on monopolies to make our cigarettes because of the huge overhead).

That's rubbish.