On our 18th birthday, my twin sister and I went to the local 7-11 and bought a pack of cigarettes. Neither of us smoke, but purchasing cigarettes is one of the many rights we had in our northern Virginia town when we turned 18. However, it appears 18-year-olds in New York City may not be able to legally purchase cigarettes for much longer.
According to huffingtonpost.com, on Oct. 30, “The New York City Council voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to raise the age for purchasing cigarettes from 18 to 21 a move that would make the nation’s most populous city among only a handful in the United States to target young smokers by barring them from buying smokes.”
The article continues, “Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is a strong supporter of the tough smoking restrictions, has 30 days to sign the bills into law. The minimum age bill will take effect 180 days after enactment.”
While I support having less people smoke, I do not think this bill is a good idea. Even though cigarettes are not the same as alcohol, I feel that cigarettes will have a similar temptation factor as alcohol. The nation’s legal drinking age may be 21, but I know underage drinking goes on. Even though it was illegal, friends and fellow students found a way around the law whether it was purchasing alcohol with a fake ID or having an older friend or sibling buy the alcohol for them. Those under 21 will probably employ the same tactic to obtain cigarettes.
There is also the image lawmakers create by raising the legal age of purchasing cigarettes. Bloomberg said in the huffingtonpost.com article, “We know tobacco dependence can begin very soon after a young person first tries smoking so it’s critical that we stop young people from smoking before they ever start.”
What happens when you tell someone young and rebellious not to do something? They do it. By raising the legal age to buy smokes, teens will see that as a challenge and try harder to buy cigarettes. They will wonder why the adults are so adamant about them not smoking and try it to see what all the fuss is about.
Also, the bill raises the legal age of purchasing cigarettes, not smoking cigarettes. This bill adds a hurdle in the way for those who want to smoke, but it is an easily surmountable hurdle.
According to the article from huffingtonpost.com, the council “also approved a bill that sets a minimum $10.50-a-pack price for tobacco cigarettes and steps up law enforcement on illegal tobacco sales.” I can also see this law creating more law breaking and therefore more work for the police, who could be spending their time doing more important business instead of stopping underage kids from smoking cigarettes.
Bryan D. Hatchell, a spokesman for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, the company behind Camel and other cigarette brands, said in the huffingtonpost.com article, “New York City already has the highest cigarette tax rate and the highest cigarette smuggling rate in the country. Those go hand in hand and this new law will only make the problem worse.”
I admit Reynolds may have a bias considering where he works, but he brings up a good point. The new law will only be an unnecessary addition to the workload of law enforcement.
The bill also creates a conflicting image of maturity. The article says, “some smokers say it’s unfair and patronizing to tell people considered mature enough to vote and serve in the military that they’re not old enough to decide whether to smoke.”
Deciding on who gets into office and protecting the country takes a large amount of maturity. If someone is mature enough to perform those actions, they should be able to have the option to purchase smokes. While I am not a fan of smoking and hope people, especially kids and teens, do not smoke, I am not going to stop someone from doing it. If you are 18 or older and want to smoke, that is your business.
I think the minimum $10.50-a-pack price on cigarettes will be successful in stopping people from purchasing smokes. The teenage years are when people begin to form some financial independence. They take jobs cutting grass or babysitting so they can save up for items they want, like movie tickets, a pair of shoes or a video game.
Teens will be less likely to take up smoking if the start-up price is too high, especially if they have other items they wish to purchase. Still, this can be avoided by having older friends with spare cash buy them cigarettes, so I admit this is not a perfect strategy, but it is a start.
I applaud New York City for wanting to reduce the amount of people who smoke, but they do not have the best strategy thought out just yet. I hope Bloomberg will veto the bill to raise the legal age of purchasing cigarettes so New York City Council can go back to the drawing board and figure out something that will work instead of a plan that would encourage illegal purchasing of smokes.
Jake Koniszewski can be reached at john.konizewski@spartans.ut.edu