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opinion:
our view
Tobacco proposal
may be futile
The California Medical Association announced recently that
it is voting on a proposal to lobby raising the legal smoking
age in California from 18 to 21. The CMA, made up of more
than 35,000 physicians in the state, will vote on the proposal
on Tuesday at their annual session in Anaheim.
If the proposal passes, the CMA will only support the lobbying
of legislation that would change the legal age to buy or possess
tobacco products and paraphernalia. The initiative is based
largely on figures from the American Lung Association that
estimate that about 90 percent of smokers begin smoking before
the age of 21.
This move by the CMA, while noble, may be too little too late.
Like kids drinking alcohol, it is somewhat absurd to think
that raising the legal age to buy tobacco will diminish the
number of young people who smoke. It may make it harder for
teens to get cigarettes but it will not stop them from trying.
Criminalizing tobacco for young people may only assist in
making more young criminals. The CMA needs to look much more
towards trying to figure out why teens smoke and looking to
end those stigmas. The CMA seems to be looking for the easy
way out of the teen smoking problem.
The biggest problem with teen smoking is the teens. Most teenagers
think they are smart, independent adults when they are, in
fact, nothing more than glorified children. Teens think they
know it all and that they are invincible. They scoff at anti-smoking
ads and health teacher's lectures. Many teens even revel in
the idea of doing something illegal.
If the legal age to smoke is raised it may only prove to be
counterproductive. Young people may want to smoke more when
they are told they can't. This is the illogical curse of adolescence
and young adulthood.
The American Lung Association has the right idea. They support
leaving the legal age where it stands and instead concentrate
on better enforcing current laws and promoting education.
Teen smoking is horrible. But, until society looks outside
the box and takes a proactive approach to curb smoking, young
people will continue to smoke. It is more important for the
state to get to the root of the problem than to make a futile
attempt that most likely won't make much of a difference.
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