Raising Minimum Smoking Age

[Senate Minority Leader Lord Voldemort]

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Study: Raising Minimum Smoking Age Could Decrease Use; Lessen Lung Cancer Deaths

What are your thoughts? Should the age to buy cigarettes be raised to 19? 21? 25?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Probably won't make much difference. Kids blag fags off older kids and adults as it is.

[CountyTy90]

I think it's fine where it is. I may hold the controversial view, but I think the government is overreaching on this subject. Keep it 18. Practically all forms of cigarette advertising are banned for good and working at a convenience store, I can say without a doubt there are less and less kids smoking these days. And let's be real, if a 15 year old wants a Marb Light... they're gonna get it.

This is like when Michael Bloomburg banned a certain size of drink in NYC or how pop is banned from grade schools; let people consume what they want. I think it's a choice of the person and the government shouldn't ban these types of things.

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

No, it should be lowered to 18.

[Goldwater]

No, it should be lowered to 18.

This. We should also make the drinking age 18.

[TDAS04]

The smoking (for tobacco and marijuana) and drinking ages should both be 18.

[Senate Minority Leader Lord Voldemort]

Interesting thoughts.

I've always thought cigarettes, alcohol, and now weed should all be 19. Minors will always acquire whatever they wish, although having the 19 age threshold will still be a significant enough barrier for high schoolers.

Personally though, I think cigarettes are such a relic of the 20th Century. But it's just so hard to strike the right balance between the government helping phase them out of the market (plain packaging, taxing, etc) to just the population at large smoking less and less.

[NeverAgain]

I second Joshua. I have seen how much smoking kills, and I think that if we continue to allow children to smoke cigarettes legally at 21, I don't want to imagine what would be then.

[© tweed]

Probably won't make much difference. Kids blag fags off older kids and adults as it is.

it does (or can) make a big difference in high schools, raising from 18 to 19.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

Lower the drinking age to 18.

The idea that certain rights are can be withheld from legal adults "for their own good" while other legal adults are free to indulge is ridiculous. (This doesn't include requirements for political office in the constitution, natch)

[IceSpear]

The smoking (for tobacco and marijuana) and drinking ages should both be 18.

[stegosaurus]

Legal adults (18) should have the right to make unhealthy lifestyle choices. Businesses should have the right to serve them without unreasonable regulatory barriers.

[Deus Naturae]

There should be no minimum smoking age.

[Sol]

There should be no minimum smoking age.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4c_wI6kQyE

[Deus Naturae]

There should be no minimum smoking age.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4c_wI6kQyE

In that situation the baby was basically forced to smoke by the parents so that's an issue in itself. But I see no need to prohibit teenagers from smoking. Not that I think that smoking cigarettes is a good decision it's not like it's illegal for teenagers to make bad decisions.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

There should be no minimum smoking age.

[TNF]

There should be no minimum smoking age.

I more or less agree with this sentiment, although I would be okay with setting a legal age for being able to purchase tobacco products, which should be at sixteen. If you're old enough for your labor to be exploited by the capitalists, you should be old enough to buy something that helps you cope with it.

[politicallefty]

Lower the drinking age to 18.

The idea that certain rights are can be withheld from legal adults "for their own good" while other legal adults are free to indulge is ridiculous. (This doesn't include requirements for political office in the constitution, natch)

Even as someone who is quite anti-smoking (when it comes to cigarettes), I completely agree. The age of adulthood in this country is 18 and with that there should be no questions as to the rights and responsibilities. The age to use an otherwise legal product should be no higher than the age of adulthood. Setting the age at 21 for anything is a completely antiquated way of thinking that should have no place in modern society.

To be perfectly honest, I would leave the smoking age at 18 and eliminate the drinking age (i.e. alcohol purchase age) altogether. To go one step further, I would treat marijuana the same way as my proposal for alcohol.

[Thunderbird is the word]

I think that after education in school you should be able to drink or smoke or do whatever at eighteen. This kind of nanny state bullsh**t is the one thing I can't stand the most about modern progressives. I also think that smoking should be allowed in bars, albeit with a limited number of licenses approved per year.

[Thunderbird is the word]

No, it should be lowered to 18.

This. We should also make the drinking age 18.

[Senate Minority Leader Lord Voldemort]

There should be no minimum smoking age.

I could see how this argument can be made.

Many teens smoke cigarettes as an image thing, they try to be edgy and think it's cool. If anyone could buy cigarettes, it would desensitize teens to the idea of smoking is "badass."

Source: Every kid that smokes cigarettes in middle school and high school.

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

There should be no minimum smoking age.

agreed, it should be banned entirely.

[TNF]

There should be no minimum smoking age.

agreed, it should be banned entirely.

Because that worked out so well with alcohol and is working just fine with Cannabis, Psilocybin Mushrooms, LSD, Heroin, Methamphetamine, Cocaine, etc., right?

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

There should be no minimum smoking age.

agreed, it should be banned entirely.

Thanks for knowing what is best for me!

[Sopranos Republican]

There should be no minimum smoking age.

agreed, it should be banned entirely.

Thanks for knowing what is best for me!

Such a hero!

I also support a legal smoking and drinking age of 16, as well as 16 to buy weed.