Though it’s taken many months, the California
legislature finally sent to the governor a proposed law which raises the
smoking age to 21. If approved,18 to
20-year-old users of tobacco and e-cigarettes will, on Jan 1, 2017, be
prohibited from purchasing them. Amy
Buch, a Health Care Agency official, who notes that 90% of smokers start before
age 18, claims that “moving the legal age to 21 allows more time for brains to
mature, resulting in less neurological susceptibility to addiction.”
I have a question: If 90% of all smokers begin
their habit before the age of 18, thereby ignoring current law, how will increasing
that age to 21 modify their behavior?
And more to the point, how likely is it that a 19-year old habitual
smoker can be made to kick the habit because a new law goes onto the books? Ms. Buch acknowledges that because “they’re
addicted to the nicotine . . . we would want to do a special outreach.”
Sadly, most anti-smoking zealots have not a
clue why smokers puff the weed. Nicotine
is not the problem; the chemical craving ends within a couple of weeks. It’s the psychological and sociological addictions
that persist. As a 2-pack-a-day teen-aged
smoker, the habit reinforcements are still vivid in my memory. The combination of romantic images,
reinforced with seductive Kool billboards, delusions of grandeur and visions of
an unfiltered John Wayne, plus the constant reminder of personal inadequacy
assuaged only by a sense of oneness with the Marlboro Man, reinforced my habit. No special
outreach program by an inept bureaucrat would have made a difference.
Be aware that shortly after my nineteenth
birthday I kicked the habit cold turkey.
It’s hard to say what’s required for a smoker
to set tobacco aside; different people respond to different stimuli. It’s a personal matter, and as with all
addictions¾yes,
all addictions¾until
the individual decides to quit, it won’t happen. Only when the basic psyche finds itself at
cross-purposes with a habit, will the practice end. That’s why treatment efforts for all sorts of
substance-abuse are normally ineffective.
The government may enact any laws it wishes,
just as the regulators may tighten the enforcement procedures, but despite their
efforts, persons of all ages will continue to inhale tobacco smoke into their
lungs. Simply stated: Virtue cannot be legislated.
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If you enjoy this
weekly Straight Talk by Al Jacobs, you’re invited to check out my monthly
Financial Newsletter, as well as my new book, The Road to Prosperity
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