NJ Lawmakers look to raise age to purchase cigarettes to 21

[Kracer]

Raise it to age 60 and problem solved!

NJ lawmakers are so clever!

Woops, think of all the childrens' programs funded through ciggy taxes...now what!!

Of course if each pack of ciggys was printed with...."use of this product will preclude legal action as a result of any pathologies attributed to smoking"..... would be more effective than health 'warnings' and images of diseased lungs.

If you could afford em, smoke em!

Of course if smokers were gun enthusiats they would discover that the cost of a carton of cigarettes could buy a brick of .22 cal rimfire ammo...that is 500 rounds. Hmm shoot my gun or buy ciggys.

Rimfire ammo is being scalped now so a carton of ciggys would be worth probably two bricks of .22s.

Do I want to shoot or smoke?

[NJGOAT]

Originally Posted by Docendo discimus

I just read somewhere that the reasoning for raising the smoking age to 21 is that it's "difficult" to tell the difference between a 17, 18 and 19 year-old, and raising the age to 21 lessens the chance of a youngin' getting under the radar, but I thought that was a lame reason. They card anyway, so that doesn't make any sense. Maybe I'm not remembering correctly but I think I also remember a time when they had posters on the wall saying that if you look under 35, you automatically get carded.

That is a pretty lame excuse. I know 21 year olds who looked 17 and vice versa. Besides, it's not like you can easily tell the difference between a soon-to-be-illegal 20 year old and a perfectly legal 21 year old. They pretty much card everyone anyway unless it is obvious.

Originally Posted by nybbler

Start smoking at 12, by the time you're 18 you'll look older :-)

lol

Originally Posted by bradykp

But he can't buy a beer either. I don't know what raising it to 21 from 19 does, except maybe reduce smoking in college a bit? I'm really not opposed to anything that further reduces smoking, having lost multiple family members to lung cancer. I'm not saying that makes it a top priority for me, I'm just not against it. I'm not sure where they come up with these ages...18, 19, 21...as defining points where we can do things. Or 25 to be able to rent a car.

Well, I'm for lowering the drinking age to 18 as well.

If the problem is that society is changing then simply change the age of majority/reason to 21. To me, if at 18 you are legally an adult for all purposes, you should be able to purchase otherwise legal but controlled products for your personal consumption. It's an old line, but if you are old enough to join the Army and go to war, you should be old enough to buy a pack of smokes or have a beer at a bar.

My understanding on the drinking age being moved to 21 was to curb high school drinking. The results are mixed as to whether or not it has actually worked. Now, since people accept "21 to drink" it's just a convenient age to spin things around and is taking shape to be the new "age of majority/reason". As for the renting a car and needing to be 25 thing, that is a business decision based on risk profiles and assessments. Drivers under age 25 are statistically far more riskier than older drivers. While much is made over senior citizens and their elevated risk, they are still a distant second "riskiest" to the under 25 crowd.

[brokenaperture]

This is just stupid.

Next...

[Buckeye614]

The whole government is corrupt. Marijuana is far less harmful than cigarettes or alcohol but it is highly stigmatized and largely outlawed. If the government truly cared about Americans' health there wouldn't be a Mcdonald's on every corner.

[colorfulchic83]

Originally Posted by Buckeye614

The whole government is corrupt. Marijuana is far less harmful than cigarettes or alcohol but it is highly stigmatized and largely outlawed. If the government truly cared about Americans' health there wouldn't be a Mcdonald's on every corner.

I agree 100%! Not to mention the health benefits of marijuana, which are absent in cigarettes and alcohol. Most Americans want it legalize, at least for medical use. I think legalization is near.

[TylerJAX]

I'm not the biggest fan of the concept that someone is old enough to be legally considered an adult yet is prohibited from making adult decisions. It's one big contradiction.