California Senate passes ban on under-21 smoking

California, a state where smoking is already forbidden in myriad ways, is close to passing a law making it illegal to touch tobacco until you’re at least 21 years old.

On Tuesday, the California Senate overwhelmingly approved a ban on smoking for anyone under 21 years of age, sending SB 151 to the State Assembly where, if passed, it will be only a governor’s signature away from becoming law.

The logic behind the bill follows the standard statist script: Tobacco is bad for your health; people who use tobacco when young have a tendency to stay hooked; and the government is obligated to step in to intervene before people commit, long term, to destroying themselves.

From The Los Angeles Times:

Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) said he introduced the bill, SB 151, out of concern that an estimated 90% of tobacco users start before age 21. Raising the minimum age will mean that fewer teenagers pick up the habit, said Hernandez, an optometrist.

He cited a study done by the Institute of Medicine for the federal Food and Drug Administration that concluded that raising the smoking age to 21 would cut smoking by 12% more than existing control policies.

“It’s time to stop allowing tobacco companies to make the deadly product so readily available to our youth,” Hernandez said.

Tough spot for young soldiers who serve in California, eh?

The counterargument opponents offer is a riff on that idea, with the Cigar Association of America arguing that 21 years old is a high bar for tobacco use — especially when young people come into other basic legal rights much earlier in life.

“The cigar group argued that people are eligible to vote, serve in the military and enter into contracts at the age of 18, and therefore should be able to make their own decisions concerning smoking,” reported the Times.

The Senate is also moving a bill that would ban the use of non-tobacco e-cigarettes and vaporizers in public places where tobacco use already is outlawed. Vape use, according to Democratic State Sen. Mark Leno, “is a really serious potential health crisis.”

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