{"id":3305,"date":"2015-06-05T19:54:41","date_gmt":"2015-06-05T19:54:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3305"},"modified":"2015-06-05T19:54:41","modified_gmt":"2015-06-05T19:54:41","slug":"california-moves-toward-raising-smoking-age-to-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3305","title":{"rendered":"California moves toward raising smoking age to 21"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"people-smoking-art-a5608c6973c633ac\"<\/a>California is the latest state that is seriously considering raising the smoking age from 18 to 21<\/a>. The California Senate passed a bill raising the smoking age (pretty easily with a vote of 26-8); now the bill goes to the State Assembly.<\/p>\n

The Hawaii Legislature passed a similar bill earlier this year and New York City raised the smoking age to 21. Some other states like Alabama, Utah, Alaska and New Jersey have a smoking age of 19.<\/p>\n

This is an issue where I’ve dragged my feet a bit personally getting behind. A whole bunch of tobacco control groups are fully behind raising the smoking age to 21, such as Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the American Cancer Society.<\/p>\n

\"3595175373_ef206c8130_b_blog_main_horizontal\"<\/a><\/p>\n

However, where I am reluctant to completely jump onboard is the knowledge that very, very few kids start smoking between 18 and 21. Most kids start smoking when they are 15, 14, 13 or even younger. So, it’s already against the law to sell cigarettes to kids under 18 and yet kids are managing to get their hands quite easily on cigarettes. I question if raising the smoking age to 21 is likewise going to have a constructive and tangible effect.<\/p>\n

The Washington Post did a pretty good story on this, <\/a>suggesting that there is data supporting the argument that raising the legal smoking age does have an effect on teen smoking rates. I’m guessing a reason why — it’s not very hard to 15- and 16-year-old kids to find 18-year-old friends at school or older brothers or sisters to buy their cigarettes for them. Not too many 21-year-olds hang out with 15- or 14-year-old kids, so with a higher legal smoking age, it might be harder for kids to find someone to buy their cigarettes for them. That’s a total guess on my part, but it makes sense to me.<\/p>\n

There is also the Libertarian argument, that kids over the age of 18 are old enough to vote and die for our country, but they’re not old enough to buy cigarettes? I actually get that argument and have a hard time refuting it. At the same time, the argument for not allowing 18-21-year-old kids to drink makes sense to me, however, that kids do not have the judgement or experience yet at 18, 19, etc., to know when they should and should not get behind the wheel of a car if they have been drinking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

California is the latest state that is seriously considering raising the smoking age from 18 to 21. The California Senate passed a bill raising the smoking age (pretty easily with a vote of 26-8); now the bill goes to the State Assembly. The Hawaii Legislature passed a similar bill earlier this year and New York … Continue reading California moves toward raising smoking age to 21<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[350],"tags":[688,524],"class_list":["post-3305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-california","tag-california","tag-raising-smoking-age"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/people-smoking-art-a5608c6973c633ac.jpg?fit=419%2C303&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4hpEa-Rj","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2897,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=2897","url_meta":{"origin":3305,"position":0},"title":"California latest state to consider raising smoking age to 21","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"February 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"California is the latest state to propose raising the smoking age to 21. A bill has been introduced into the California State Assembly to raise the smoking age from 18 to 21. The State of Washington is considering similar legislation. Some states have a smoking age of 19 (Utah, Alaska,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "California"","block_context":{"text":"California","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=350"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/college-smoker.jpg?fit=600%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/college-smoker.jpg?fit=600%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/college-smoker.jpg?fit=600%2C300&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3760,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3760","url_meta":{"origin":3305,"position":1},"title":"California Assembly approves bills to raise smoking age to 21 and to regulate e-cigs","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"March 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The California State Assembly approved a bill this week to raise the state's smoking age from 18 to 21. A number of cities and states have been doing this the past couple of years. I've on record as having a somewhat mixed view of this -- 18-year-olds can vote, join\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "California"","block_context":{"text":"California","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=350"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/california-legislature.jpg?fit=500%2C288&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4260,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=4260","url_meta":{"origin":3305,"position":2},"title":"Washington to raise smoking, vaping age to 21","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"April 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Washington is the latest state that will be raising its smoking and vaping age to 21. The Washington State Senate just passed a bill and Gov. Jay Inslee quickly signed it earlier this month. This is a push going on nationwide in cities and states. Washington is the ninth state\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Smoking age\"","block_context":{"text":"Smoking age","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?tag=smoking-age"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/web_vape_smoke_iXSmQtM_t1170.jpg?fit=1170%2C656&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/web_vape_smoke_iXSmQtM_t1170.jpg?fit=1170%2C656&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/web_vape_smoke_iXSmQtM_t1170.jpg?fit=1170%2C656&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/web_vape_smoke_iXSmQtM_t1170.jpg?fit=1170%2C656&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/web_vape_smoke_iXSmQtM_t1170.jpg?fit=1170%2C656&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1935,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=1935","url_meta":{"origin":3305,"position":3},"title":"Colorado, Utah consider raising the age for buying cigarettes to 21","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"February 22, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Interesting, Colorado,\u00a0the state that legalized recreational pot is considering raising the legal age for buying tobacco products to 21. Utah is considering similar legislation. Report on Colorado bill Honestly, don't have a strong opinion on this. I see the logic behind making 21 the legal age for alcohol, because too\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "smoking"","block_context":{"text":"smoking","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=57"},"img":{"alt_text":"teen smoking","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/teen-smoking.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2864,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=2864","url_meta":{"origin":3305,"position":4},"title":"Washington attorney general proposes raising smoking age to 21","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"January 25, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This is an issue where I tend to split off from a lot of anti-tobacco advocates. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced a bill last week to raise the smoking age in Washington from 18 to 21. It's an effort I can't totally get behind for several reasons. First of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Teen smoking"","block_context":{"text":"Teen smoking","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=66"},"img":{"alt_text":"18-year-old smoker","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/18-year-old-smoker.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3879,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3879","url_meta":{"origin":3305,"position":5},"title":"California raises smoking, vaping age to 21; e-cigs banned in public buildings","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"May 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"California is the latest entity -- and the biggest -- to raise the age for buying cigarettes and vaping products to 21 (There's a misunderstanding here, it's not against the law for 18-year-olds to smoke or vape ... it's against the law to sell products to people under 21 now.).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "California"","block_context":{"text":"California","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=350"},"img":{"alt_text":"2C13DE0D00000578-3226486-Young_people_who_use_e_cigarettes_are_four_times_more_likely_to_-a-2_1441727432935","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/2C13DE0D00000578-3226486-Young_people_who_use_e_cigarettes_are_four_times_more_likely_to_-a-2_1441727432935.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3305"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3308,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3305\/revisions\/3308"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}