Should We Raise the Smoking Age to 21?
Today's Peninsula Poll Question is:
Should Washington's legal tobacco purchase age be raised from 18 to 21, as has been proposed in the state Legislature?
Number of votes cast: 537
Should Washington's legal tobacco purchase age be raised from 18 to 21, as has been proposed in the state Legislature?
Number of votes cast: 537
posted by Tom Harper at 9:29 AM
3 Comments:
Another of our society's mixed messages, and hypocrisies.
How many products are heavily regulated and required to build in safety provisions if there are documented injuries or deaths? Think of baby cribs that get recalled, because a dozen or so kids found a way to get their heads stuck between the rungs.
Cars get redesigned all the time so that things that can result in death and injury get changed. Electrical appliances have to be approved before they're sold.
But, tobacco kills and injures by the millions every year. Costs us billions in health care. We spend millions in trying to get people not to start smoking, and millions more to get people to quit.
Suggest legalizing Heroin, and politicians go nutty falling all over themselves telling us all the costs associated with "drugs". Suggest outlawing tobacco, and that is just "not possible".
But many millions more are harmed by tobacco, than heroin every year.
Yeah, I know. Using tobacco is a choice, and I should be able to kill myself if I want to. Fine. But don't make me have to pay for it.
Well said, Anonymous. Regulation is a very imperfect tool, but a very necessary one sometimes, such as with tobacco.
There is no upside for anyone *starting* a nicotine habit, and putting off the legal age for the possibility of starting such an ugly, bonehead habit is a smart idea in about 50 different ways.
Of course the deluded and the selfish jerk-offs will pee their pants at the idea of regulating anything. Thankfully they're dying off.
Whatever....
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