04-26-2003, 09:11 AM
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#1 (permalink)
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Registered User
Location: Somewhere in Ohio
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New Jersey hiking legal-smoking age to 21?
LINKY
If it was up to me I'd make them illegal.
Quote:
Age to buy tobacco would increase to 21
Friday, April 25, 2003
BY JOSH MARGOLIN
Star-Ledger Staff
Two state lawmakers yesterday pitched legislation that would make New Jersey the first state in the nation to raise the legal age for buying cigarettes to 21.
Noting that people need to be 21 to drink or gamble in New Jersey, Assemblymen John McKeon and Joseph Cryan, both Democrats, said the current purchase age of 18 does not make sense. The two lawmakers are co-sponsors of a bill that is expected to be considered by the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee soon.
"Ninety percent of smokers begin before the age of 21," Cryan (D-Union) said during a Statehouse news conference. "This (bill) makes it more difficult. It's no different than drinking or gambling."
The push to raise the smoking age comes as the state Legislature considers a bill that would, like a new law in New York City, prohibit smoking in restaurants, bars and small workplaces. Smoking is limited in large workplaces in New Jersey.
No state has a tobacco-purchase age of 21. It has been proposed in California but is stalled in the state Legislature. New Jersey and 46 other states have a tobacco-purchase age of 18. Alabama, Alaska and Utah have raised it to 19.
While Cryan and McKeon (D-Essex) were joined by representatives of some key anti-smoking groups yesterday, one of the leaders in the state's anti-smoking movement said he doubts a higher age limit would make a big difference.
"Does moving it from 18 to 21 have a big impact in reducing consumption dramatically? There are things we can do that are more effective," said Larry Downs, executive director of NJ Breathes. He said the state should put more resources into educating youngsters about the dangers of tobacco, noting that most kids begin smoking much younger than the current legal age of 18.
McKeon said the bill "isn't the catch-all, the cure-all. It's another piece of the puzzle."
Smokers offered differing opinions on the proposal yesterday.
Jeff Scharnikow, 20, of Piscataway said such a law could actually make cigarettes more seductive to the young.
"The more you make something hard to get, the more young people try to get it," said Scharnikow. "Young people like the risk and excitement of doing something forbidden. It's like anything else. If you want it, you're going to get it."
John Rogaliski, 30, of Raritan Borough said the age restriction would not have stopped him from taking his first puffs at 16. But he said increasing the age would serve as a strong symbol.
"Cigarettes are a monkey that I can't get off of my back," said Rogaliski. "I've been smoking for years, and I just can't seem to quit."
The lawmakers said increasing the legal age would make it easier for vendors to spot underage buyers and make it much harder for high school students to buy cigarettes. Currently, they said, 18-year-old seniors often buy cigarettes for younger students.
The new proposal would set fines for those who supply tobacco products to those under 21. Repeat offenders also could risk losing their licenses to sell tobacco products, McKeon said.
McKeon and Cryan said the age switch would probably cut tobacco tax revenues to the state, but they had no estimates.
The largest cigarette maker in the country, Virginia-based Philip Morris USA, has no position on the proposal.
"We defer to legislators and elected officials in New Jersey to make the determination of the appropriate age to purchase cigarettes," said Philip Morris spokesman Tom Ryan.
Gov. James E. McGreevey has not taken a position on the measure, according to spokesman Micah Rasmussen.
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