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[bigkrev]

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/p...aises-smoking-age-from-19-to-21-20170721.html

Gov. Christie on Friday signed into law legislation that raises the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products and electronic cigarettes in New Jersey from 19 to 21.

Vendors licensed to sell tobacco products would be subject to fines of up to $1,000 for violating the law.

Christie, a Republican, has made anti-addiction initiatives a priority of his two terms in office.

“By raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21, we are giving young people more time to develop a maturity and better understanding of how dangerous smoking can be and that it is better to not start smoking in the first place,” Christie said in statement.

The Democratic-controlled Legislature passed the measure along mostly party-line votes, with most Republicans opposed.

“Making it harder to buy cigarettes by raising the age to legally purchase them in New Jersey will help prevent our youth from becoming lifelong smokers and suffering the long-term effects of the habit,” said Sen. Joe Vitale (D., Middlesex), a bill sponsor.

The law takes effect in November. New Jersey joins Hawaii and California as states that have raised the smoking age to 21, according to lawmakers in Trenton.

 

[ahoyhoy]

Raise the age you can join the army next.

 

[TheCochese]

Raise the age you can join the army next.

Yes, New Jersey will get right on that.

 

[Dishwalla]

Raise the age you can join the army next.

Wouldn't that be more of a federal thing, when this is a state by state case?

 

[norm9]

Bodegas and other corner markets gonna get fined. Lots of underage buying stings.

 

[Sweeney Tom]

Not like his approval rating can go lower

 

[Ryan242004]

All they are doing is making the counterfeiting cigarettes problem up there even worse. That's going to make some people a lot of money.

 

[Dishwalla]

Bodegas and other corner markets gonna get fined. Lots of underage buying stings.

Or more 20 year old kids are just gonna go to NYC and Philly to buy cigs.

 

[Goofalo]

Chicago has had it for a while. You can't even buy a lighter if you aren't 21. I routinely have some 19 year old suburb kid ask me to buy them smokes or something if I'm out on a weekend.

"Go back to Schaumburg."

 

[newjeruse]

Or more 20 year old kids are just gonna go to NYC and Philly to buy cigs.

Good luck to all 20-year olds who can consistenly afford to buy cigarettes in NYC.

I hate Christie but I like this bill.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

Really just need a straight national ban on anyone born after X year from buying tobacco or e-cigs. Make selling to and buying for anything born after this year a very serious offense.


Using tobacco is just one of the most disgusting things people can do. Damages their health and everyone they come in contact with.

 

[SecretMoblin]

Cigarettes are gross but I'm not a fan, especially for e-cigs. And when NJ finally legalizes weed and this applies.

 

[HammerOfThor]

Chicago has had it for a while. You can't even buy a lighter if you aren't 21. I routinely have some 19 year old suburb kid ask me to buy them smokes or something if I'm out on a weekend.

"Go back to Schaumburg."

Holy shit, I live in Park Ridge and work in the city, I had no idea about this.

Wouldn't that be more of a federal thing, when this is a state by state case?

Yes, New Jersey will get right on that.

I assume his point was more that you can give your life to fight in the military but can't legally smoke or drink

 

[smokeymicpot]

NYC is the same thing. Not surprised this is spreading over.

 

[NullPointer]

So you're an adult at 18 but not really.

This is nanny-state nonsense.

 

[Dishwalla]

I assume his point was more that you can give your life to fight in the military but can't legally smoke or drink

I got his point, but raising the age to join the military is a whole different beast than a few states raising the age to buy tobacco.

 

[boiled goose]

Really just need a straight national ban on anyone born after X year from buying tobacco or e-cigs. Make selling to and buying for anything born after this year a very serious offense.


Using tobacco is just one of the most disgusting things people can do. Damages their health and everyone they come in contact with.

And create a black market? Nah

Education is the answer and it's working

 

[Old Gimlet Eyes]

How about raising the adult age to 21? Not a fan of you're an adult but only for certain things.

 

[Skellig Gra]

Works for me. Cut off the youth as much as possible so they never pick it up.

 

[Ron Mexico]

There were several Wawa locations in NJ that were just audited/shopped for compliance.

Call me cynical, but the fines are going to be an additional income stream for the state.

 

[Fuchsdh]

So you're an adult at 18 but not really.

This is nanny-state nonsense.

Well, the reality is from a science standpoint the legal age should probably be 21 or higher, but society isn't really set up for that view of adulthood.

This gets fewer people smoking, it's worth it.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

And create a black market? Nah

Education is the answer and it's working

Education is doing really well, but setting a hard date should catch any stragglers.

 

[Samus4145]

So OP title is confusing. The purchase age was raised, but I didn't think there was an age limit for use (there should be) considering you see high school kids smoking freely and no one cares.

Edit: I stand corrected, but I guess no one checks the age of kids smoking.

 

[Soapbox Killer]

Should be 21 across the country and there should be an exception for military personnel.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

Should be 21 across the country and there should be an exception for military personnel.

The military should work on making themselves tobacco free too. Provide incentives for quitting first, then punishments for use later.

 

[PlayALLtheGames]

So you're an adult at 18 but not really.

This is nanny-state nonsense.

Yeah, totally. Teenagers should be able to start fucking their shit up and putting a burden on the healthcare system as early as possible! Freedumb!

 

[Psychoward]

So you're an adult at 18 but not really.

This is nanny-state nonsense.

name 1 benefit of cigarettes

 

[Dishwalla]

The military should work on making themselves tobacco free too. Provide incentives for quitting first, then punishments for use later.

Military has been talking about halting sales of tobacco products on base, and I know certain commands don't allow smoking at them anymore. They are slowly but surely implementing measures to cut back smoking in the service.

 

[Dai101]

So, at 18 you're ok to go overseas to murder brown people but still a toddler to decide to kill yourself via smoking or alcohol

#AMERICANLOGIC

 

[The Wraith]

If you're old enough to die by fighting in a war a politician makes you fight in then in my opinion you're old enough to drink or smoke.
I dont drink regularly or smoke btw.

 

[Ivan 3414]

Lol, smoking tobacco

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

I hope we can eventually phase out the popularity of alcohol like we have with tobacco.

 

[theWB27]

I'm not getting the connection between New Jersey doing this and being able to go to war.

I don't think Christie has that kind of power. It's a gross false equivalency.

 

[Dreadnought]

Ridiculous. I hate cigarettes but this is silly, are we adults at 18 or 21? For fuck sake just make everything 18, raising it to 21 does not stop anything except make it a minor inconvenience to buy a cigarette.

 

[WriterGK]

So you can drive at 16 but smoke only at 21. I guess logic is out of the window

 

[kirblar]

This is really dumb, it just creates a bootleg market for cigarettes and fines for the state. (And knowing NJ, wouldn't be shocked if the first side effect is actually deliberate.)

 

[NandoGip]

This has been a trend for years in many states

 

[Ginger Hail]

Could have sworn it was already 21, but I guess it was still slightly higher (19) than average at least.

 

[Psychoward]

So you can drive at 16 but smoke only at 21. I guess logic is out of the window

It's almost like one is almost necessary to get around and the other is nothing but a drain on the person, the people around them and the Healthcare system.

Also the smoking age is still the same, it's just not being able to purchase them until you're 21. Also you can't drive without a patent until you're 17 in NJ.

 

[TheAbsolution]

I hope we can eventually phase out the popularity of alcohol like we have with tobacco.

This will never happen.

 

[Netherscourge]

So you can drive at 16 but smoke only at 21. I guess logic is out of the window

How does driving correlate with smoking?

I can understand a joining the Army @ 18 correlation, but driving?

 

[Faiz]

I have trouble with the idea of being able to go to war but not make the decision to smoke or not, but that's a conflict of differing authorities. /shrug. I have no problems with it otherwise.

 

[PlayALLtheGames]

This is really dumb, it just creates a bootleg market for cigarettes and fines for the state. (And knowing NJ, wouldn't be shocked if the first side effect is actually deliberate.)

I mean, how substantial is the bootleg cigarette market? I find it hard to believe NJ teens will start buying bootleg cigarettes. The ones that are really compelled will simply find someone to buy for them.

 

[Bit-Bit]

How does driving correlate with smoking?

I can understand a joining the Army @ 18 correlation, but driving?

In all 3 instances you're given massive amounts of responsibility.

If you're responsible enough to drive a 2 ton vehicle, making constant on the road decisions, then you should be responsible enough to decide if drugs is something you can use recreationally.

 

[#sorrynotsorry]

Anyone who's never been addicted to cigarettes should stay out of this conversation. No one, and I mean no one, is old enough to realize what condemning themselves to addiction at 18 years old (less really). Cigarettes should be completely outlawed, but this is better than nothing.

Cigarettes are among the most evil human inventions we have today. Literally evil.

In all 3 instances you're given massive amounts of responsibility.

If you're responsible enough to drive a 2 ton vehicle, making constant on the road decisions, then you should be responsible enough to decide if drugs is something you can use recreationally.

But you aren't responsible enough to make that decision at 18.

 

[Korigama]

So you're an adult at 18 but not really.

This is nanny-state nonsense.

How about raising the adult age to 21? Not a fan of you're an adult but only for certain things.

Actual adulthood being staggered applies to a lot of things in the US.

-Allowed to vote at 18.
-Have to be 18 or in some states 21 to smoke.
-Have to be 21 to drink or gamble.
-Have to be 25 to rent a car depending on region or rental agency (and even then, the ones that make exceptions usually place limitations on what you can rent if you're under 25).
-And of course, can't become president if you're under 35 (which seems reasonable enough in theory for the sake of allowing potential candidates to gain perspective and life experience, but it still didn't prevent the swearing in of a certified manchild at twice that minimal age).

 

[frankie_baby]

Really just need a straight national ban on anyone born after X year from buying tobacco or e-cigs. Make selling to and buying for anything born after this year a very serious offense.


Using tobacco is just one of the most disgusting things people can do. Damages their health and everyone they come in contact with.

Fantastic for the economy though, shortens life so less pensions to pay out

 

[Shadybiz]

Kind of on the fence about this. Smoking is an awful habit that no one should ever pick up. At the same time, an 18 ye old should be able to make their own choices, or else they're not really considered "adults." It's weird.

 

[WriterGK]

How does driving correlate with smoking?

I can understand a joining the Army @ 18 correlation, but driving?

Cause I think its weird to let kids drive when they are not even adult yet. And 18 is adult but in USA you can only start drinking at 21. Driving a car gives you a responsibility to yourself and others on the road. That and drinking/smoking both ought to be around 18

Actual adulthood being staggered applies to a lot of things in the US.

-Allowed to vote at 18.
-Have to be 18 or in some states 21 to smoke.
-Have to be 21 to drink or gamble.
-Have to be 25 to rent a car depending on region or rental agency (and even then, the ones that make exceptions usually place limitations on what you can rent if you're under 25).
-And of course, can't become president if you're under 35 (which seems reasonable enough in theory for the sake of allowing potential candidates to gain perspective and life experience, but it still didn't prevent the swearing in of a certified manchild at twice that minimal age).

Thnx for pointing that out. Makes no sense. So you can be 16/17 while driving a car but you can only rent them when you are 25....

 

[Netherscourge]

Cause I think its weird to let kids drive when they are not even adult yet. And 18 is adult but in USA you can only start drinking at 21. Driving a car gives you a responsibility to yourself and others on the road. That and drinking/smoking both ought to be around 18

Driving requires a license and at least liability insurance in most states. If you're in an accident, you're at least covered for emergency services.