California Raises Smoking Age To 21, And As A Smoker, I’m Torn On This One

Alex Buscemi9 years ago

California fraternity men are going to have to change the way they do pledge packs.

Starting Thursday, California residents will have to be at least 21 years old to get their nicotine fix, whether their poison of choice is cigarettes, dip, chew, or electronic cigarettes.

I guess pledges will have to pool their money and give the cash to a 21-year-old initiated brother… unless they have a pledge brother in ROTC — military guys can still buy tobacco at 18.

From Daily Motion:

Under a new law that takes effect Thursday this week, smokers will now have to be 21 and older to buy tobacco products in California. Last month, Governor Jerry Brown signed a series of tobacco-related legislation that increases the state’s minimum age to buy tobacco from 18 to 21, regulates electronic cigarettes and restricts tobacco use in other ways. According to the law, military personnel with an identification card can still buy cigarettes if they’re 18.

I’m torn on this one. On one hand, I think that once a person becomes an adult, it should be up to them to put whatever they want into their body (short of meth and heroin and PCP). This is America, and if someone wants to slowly rot themselves from the inside out and knock a decade off their lifespan, that should be their prerogative. It’s what the founding fathers would have wanted.

But on the other hand, I started smoking at 18, and now I’m addicted as fuck. If I don’t blow down a heater once every two hours, I can’t even think straight. It’s bad. I wish I could quit. Live to see my grandkid’s wedding and all that jazz. But I don’t have the willpower. Not now at least. And it’s all because I was a dumbass high schooler who thought he was hot shit for smoking in the parking lot after class. This law won’t stop every 18-year-old Californian from chiefing boges, but it’ll help.

I still think the best way to curb juvenile tobacco consumption would be to legalize public weed smoking. That’ll give the kids the buzz they need. Too bad our political leaders are as scared of weed as they are rap music. Ah well. They’ll be dead soon. They grew up at a time when cigarette smoking was the norm, after all.

In other news, Ronny, the 25-year-old burnout who always posts up in the bus loop in his red jeep and camouflage hoodie, just bought 20 boxes of Marlboro 27s..

[via Daily Motion]