America's Legal Smoking Age Is Being Raised To 21

[ToTheNines]

Originally Posted by plastroncafe

I'm for 18 being the legal age to vote and to serve in the military, but I think we should swap driving and drinking. Let 16 year olds buy beer, but don't let anyone drive until they turn 21.

Might cripple our economy, but whatever.

Originally Posted by Commenter 42

Did it mention vaping? You know, the even dumber form of smoking?

You understand that people are ALLOWED to be dumb if they so choose to be right?

(Not advocating vaping, they're douche lords too)

[CyberCubed]

Let people smoke and drink all they want, it doesn't affect me or anyone I know.

[TurtleWA]

I'm all for public health and protecting young people. But at some point people have to start making decisions for themselves even if those decisions are self destructive.
The way ages are assigned to things is so strange. You have to be 35 to run for president but 18 to vote. So someone is mature enough to vote for a leader of the country but not be the leader themselves.

[Refractive Reflections]

Originally Posted by TurtleWA

I'm all for public health and protecting young people. But at some point people have to start making decisions for themselves even if those decisions are self destructive.
The way ages are assigned to things is so strange. You have to be 35 to run for president but 18 to vote. So someone is mature enough to vote for a leader of the country but not be the leader themselves.

As for the presidency, I think it's more of a significant maturity & life experience issue as to why the president has to be at least 35, since the president holds so much political power that affects the whole population of a nation (rather than just affecting the individual themselves in regards to personal freedoms/privileges), and can make executive decisions on war and the military (i.e. The War Powers Resolution). The maturity and justification for entering the nation into armed combat would be different from an 18 year old vs. a 35 year old.

I mean, just look at the forums here, I'm sure the reasoning and outlook are far different for some of the members here from when they were 18, versus those same individuals who are now approaching 35.

[Andrew NDB]

So basically a lot of... "I don't smoke, it's bad for you, and I'm glad there's a lot of people of my same mind so I don't ever have to catch a waft of it anywhere ever, even hypothetically."

Nonsense. Complete nonsense. Especially when held to the same light as other vices out there. And the figures the lobbyists throw out there, "500 million die each year (or whatever made up number is en vogue today) of second hand smoke!!!"... do you know of any? No one does. You won't find one person out there that has ever died conclusively of second hand smoke. It's a white buffalo story.

[TurtleWA]

Originally Posted by Refractive Reflections

As for the presidency, I think it's more of a significant maturity & life experience issue as to why the president has to be at least 35, since the president holds so much political power that affects the whole population of a nation (rather than just affecting the individual themselves in regards to personal freedoms/privileges), and can make executive decisions on war and the military (i.e. The War Powers Resolution). The maturity and justification for entering the nation into armed combat would be different from an 18 year old vs. a 35 year old.

I mean, just look at the forums here, I'm sure the reasoning and outlook are far different for some of the members here from when they were 18, versus those same individuals who are now approaching 35.

Yes I totally agree an individuals judgement does/could change with age and life experience.

Generally speaking one may assume that the 35 year old would be more logical. But it all depends on the specific persons emotional maturity. It could be possible for an 18 year old to be wise in the choices they make and a 35 year old to be impulsive and careless in their decisions.

I was just pointing out another (in my opinion) weird age bias that makes little sense to me.

[ProactiveMan]

Originally Posted by plastroncafe

I want to say that MA is looking to ban smoking in cars that have children in them.

I don't really have a horse in this race, as I don't smoke, and don't intend to start. It seems to me though that if this activity is so dangerous...why isn't it just completely illegal?

Oh right, tobacco lobby.

The tobacco lobby don't have many teeth in this country, but the government will never make tobacco illegal because they make so much damn money from taxing it. They've cranked the tax on tobacco so high that a pack of 20 will cost $40 by 2020, and the justification is that it will dissuade people from smoking. That's BS to an extent because if that money goes away, they'd have to find it somewhere else.

We also have gross pictures printed on cigarette packaging here; like diseased eyeballs and tongue cancer. I’m pretty sure the legal smoking age is 18 though, however I don’t think it’s technically illegal for minors to smoke, but it’s illegal to sell, give, or allow them to acquire tobacco.

[Commenter 42]

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

You understand that people are ALLOWED to be dumb if they so choose to be right?

(Not advocating vaping, they're douche lords too)

I'm all for less people. So, yes.

Of course yeah, you want to vape, I'm all for it.


...

I mean, I vaped once.
It took a little getting used to.
Had to find a volunteer to vape me.

Spoiler:

Cleared my sinuses real good, but I ended up with pink eye for like, 18 months.

[ToTheNines]

Originally Posted by Commenter 42

I'm all for less people. So, yes.

*High five*

I mean, I vaped once.
It took a little getting used to.
Had to find a volunteer to vape me.

Spoiler:

http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view5/460...for-fart-o.gif

Cleared my sinuses real good, but I ended up with pink eye for like, 18 months.

Lol, what did I just watch?

[Shark_Blade]

They should ban it for all ages.

[Commenter 42]

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

*High five*

Lol, what did I just watch?

Courtesy the chuckleheads on Comicbookmovie.com.

Gusto and McGee are genius. Jollem is like Cybercubed³

[ToTheNines]

I hate them all, especially Jollem. I heard a theory once that they're all just Josh Wilding troll accounts.

[Commenter 42]

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

I hate them all, especially Jollem. I heard a theory once that they're all just Josh Wilding troll accounts.

Yeah, I think I put that article up here...

And people complain about the drome.
Pfft.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

Anything to do with Josh Wilding fills me up with great rage.

[BubblyShell22]

This won't solve anything since underage kids will still smoke and still drink no matter what age restriction is put on them. They can try, but it won't work.

[The Deadman]

Originally Posted by BubblyShell22

This won't solve anything since underage kids will still smoke and still drink no matter what age restriction is put on them. They can try, but it won't work.

This. Upping the smoking age to 21 will just want kids under that age to do it even more.

[plastroncafe]

Originally Posted by TheSkeletonMan939

You've got to be kidding. Letting kids get comfortable with alcohol before putting them behind the wheel is a great way of raising crash-related fatalities.

Show your work.

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

Nanny state bull ****. It won't stop at smoking.

A real nanny state would have just made them 100% illegal.

Originally Posted by ToTheNines

Might cripple our economy, but whatever.

[CylonsKlingonsDaleksOhMy]

Smoking is the one freedom I just don't care about. It's not Libertarian or small government at all to regulate it, but I don't care.

[Commenter 42]

Less is more.

[turtlefanforever]

We need to end smoking altogether so making them wait even longer is fine by me. People will probably do it anyway but one less thing to motivate them to.