The
goal of this bill is to prevent cigarettes usage among teenagers before it
becomes an “adult habit.” The bill has been approved by the state Assembly and
is expecting to be approved by the Senate sometime next week before reaching
Democratic Governor Jerry Brown to sign it into law. In addition, the Assembly
has also approved new laws that would allow local governments to impose
cigarette taxes and further ban the use of electronic cigarettes.
Supporters
of raising the tobacco purchase age argue that the continuation of selling
cigarettes to 18-year-olds will likely result in more spread of minor smokers, for
example, “seniors in high school can distribute them to minors”. This argument
is supported by the federally commissioned study that proved the raising
tobacco purchase age to 21 would reduce the number of minors who begin smoking.
In order to push this bill forward, these supporters also proposed an exemption that
would allow active military personnel under the age of 21 still be able to purchase
tobacco. However, in opposition, the Republicans argue that the passing of this
bill means limiting personal freedoms. The Altria Group Inc., the nation’s
largest tobacco company, states that this bill needs the Food and Drug
Administration and Congress’ to involve before the state enacts different
minimum age of tobacco purchase laws.
Although
the California bill is still in the process, as of last year, Hawaii officially became the first state to raise the tobacco purchase age from 18 to 21 years old.
Lawmakers in Massachusetts, Illinois, New York (New York City), and Missouri (Kansas
City) are also considering similar legislations as well.
The
passing of this bill will disadvantage the tobacco industry because there will
be changes to the number of sales as customers under the age 21 will no
longer be able to purchase tobacco anymore. According to the California’s Board
of Equalization’s estimation, at an average price of $5.96 per pack, there is
approximately about $256 million in loss sales and would reduce California’s
excise-and-sales-tax revenue about $68.4 million.
That is so right, in my opinion this law will not pass because of all the losses that would come from not being able to sell to 18-20 year olds.
ReplyDeleteTeenagers start smoking for many reasons and the fact that it is bad for your health and illegal does not stop everyone. This is a social concern and influenced by culture, friends, and role models. Would rising the legal age to 21-years for smoking limit the problem? No, I think we should ban all advertising for cigarettes in in order to stop teenagers to smoke. We observe smoking everywhere such as in children movies, in gas-stations and at the airports. As long as we find smoking accepted in our culture and it gives an “image” or it is related to a social thing, we will contribute to problem. People should be able to choose for themselves if smoking fits them or not, but it should not be influenced by other factors such as advertisements and branding campaign. So, I think banning advertisements would prevent teenage smoking, but rising the legal age would not make a big difference.
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