• Virginia House passes bill to raise minimum smoking age to 21
    50 replies, posted
I never actually thought about this and it makes a lot more sense.
tobacco is pure cancer for the land, the people who handle it and the people that use it. "I like my cigar once in a while" well great but same with the coal rollers it ain't good just because you say it is.
Yes, because of inelastic demand. Do you just not care about individual rights? I'm not talking about banning it from public places which I'm all for. I'm just talking about what people do in the privacy of their own homes. Anti-smoking campaigns are going to be more effective in the long run than outright prohibition and like I said, there's gonna be more cigarettes that gets in the hands of kids if tobacco is banned. Do you want cigarettes to be more widely available to kids? Because prohibition is how you get more cigarettes in the hands of kids. It's moot anyway, the different regulations and health awareness campaigns against tobacco in the past 20 years have contributed to a vast decrease in the number of smokers, especially amongst young people. https://i.imgur.com/1aCk9OK.png Now you're saying people are too dumb to make their own decision concerning a vice when statistics show that the population as a whole is getting smarter about it? Give me a fucking break.
What positive benefit does smoking have? Its destructive to farm as nicotine depletes the soil and the plant itself is toxic to touch, its addictive and cancerous to its end users, it causes an enormous social burden both in healthcare and the side effects. The 1st world isn't even the issue, tobacco companies have massive power over 3rd world countries and are able to effectively defeat any and all regulations so they can and do push cigarettes on small children as well as do other things that are illegal here like spread disinformation about the health benefits of smoking. Its a blight on mankind worse than alcohol, and just ignoring it and hoping it goes away won't work.
13 year olds think you're cool as shit
It's not about the benefit of smoking, it's about the benefit of not having it outlawed.
IMO it'd be hypocritical of me to support legalization of marijuana and prohibition of tobacco at the same time, but I think 21 is a good age for both
This is not the basis for whether or not we should ban something.
Not to mention we’d be creating yet another form of contraband for gangs and cartels to exploit, whilst criminalizing people over non violent crimes and pissing everyone off in the process. If you think the war on drugs is bad, you shouldn’t be advocating for the banning of tobacco. Education is the best way to discourage smoking by far.
it kinda is, and that's how our scheduling system is supposed to work if it wasn't stocked with anti drug crusaders. We don't let people own cannons because its not good for society as a whole, we don't let companies produce PCBs anymore because its not good for society, this is literally the process for enacting rules in this country.
There's this funny thing called neuropsych which has a pretty good understanding of developmental stages of the brain. Entirely independent of how you percieved your own intelligence is how fully your brain was developed. Unless you're an extreme aberration, you're in the same boat as everyone else when you were 18.
I am against prohibition but I am in favor of regulation and I see this as a way of regulating. I think it makes sense.
Personally I don't see any issue with raising the minimum age for military service up to 21 if people wanna keep one consistent age for these things? Military recruitment officers can be almost predatory towards kids getting right out of high school, with all the promises of having it pay for your college and retirement, stronger job prospects, etc. Hell, I even fell for that speech when I was in 12th grade. Got driven out to Waco, TX by my recruiting officer and was just about shipped off to navy when a nervous tic stopped me. It's nothing against our troops or anything! Just, knowing what i know now about the US's shit treatment of veterans post-service, i'm glad i avoided that mess only thing that kept me from signing on fully was an inability to give a urine test while three people stared me down. can't pee with an audience lmao ...aaanyway, I don't see a problem with this bill tbh? Highschoolers might not seem 'young' but looking back, Highschool Me was an idiot who would've fucked up very badly if she had easy access to alcohol/cigarettes, and having grown up a bit past graduation, I'm much more aware/understanding of the risks associated with these kinda things this is just a good move imo
Except people aren’t ignoring it since basic health classes and anti smoking campaigns from the last 20+ years have been helping to decline the numbers over time by explaining in graphic detail what the effects of smoking are. Does your solution to literally everything involve banning things you don’t like with poorly thought out legislation? Also people are allowed to own cannons.
Yeah I mean tbh as long as they have a consistent age for adulthood, that's my only true beef with it.
We don’t, the law is full of double standards here. 21 to drink alcoholic beverages or own a handgun. 18 to vote, have sex, smoke, own a rifle/shotgun, and enlist into the military to kill brown people overseas. 16 to drive. Around 10 to be tried as an adult and convicted of a felony. Under the age of two to be tried in an immigration hearing. Shit is fucked.
This argument is so boring. Being able to join the military doesn't implicitly mean you're responsible or at military standards for discipline. That's what training is for. Just because 18 means you're an 'adult' doesn't excuse this corny poorly thought out 'if you can die for your country you should be able to get a beer!!!' argument
Thank you, in so sick of this tired old horse being dragged out anytime there's an attempt to have a socially and scientifically responsible approach to drugs.
That is great, fucking smoking addicts.
You'd have a point if every single male over 18 didn't have to sign up for a draft.
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