Hawaii Raises Smoking Age to 21

Townhall.com ^ | May 2, 2015 | Dr Mark Skousen

[Norm Lenhart]

I meant in general. Of course half of a handful of people left still isn’t much.

[xzins]

Oh my gosh, are we saying that controls can be placed on behaviors? Why...I wonder if marriage could be defined and limited....

[Norm Lenhart]

Smoking isn’t healthy no doubt. I totally disagree on the handling. All state or fed taxation of vice does is fund Democrats and increase liberalism and liberal power.

I’m not a smoker. Never was. But its the incrementalism thats IMO the issue. Govt has no business at all 3conomically e3ngineering behavior of free people. Thats fully communist.

Of course we havent been free people a long time now...

Good to see you too BTW, ;)

[Norm Lenhart]

Depends on which liberal is in office.

[proxy_user]

Hawaii is an island, so they’re not very worried about bootleg cigarettes. It’s not like you can drive to North Carolina and fill up your van.

[jtal]

Meanwhile, 1,200 people die from tobacco use or exposure

Hard to die of exposure in HI where it's pretty much 80F round the clock.

[JRandomFreeper]

The only good thing I see in this mess is that the Feds are staying out of it.

I'd rather have the States doing this kind of stupidity than the Feds.

At least I can reach out and make changes in the State legislators.

But I understand your point. No level of government should be involved in a world where free people are involved.

/johnny

[Norm Lenhart]

True. Instead, the same thing will happen that occurred in NY when they upped the drinking age. Drug use rose significantly. And weed is more abundant in HI than tobacco in the south.

Most of the island smokes weed now. It will just increase it further.

WINNING!

[1FreeAmerican]

A kid who used to work for me got pulled over while driving on the Mainland (was a little to heavy on the gas pedal). He handed the cop his HI DL and the first thing the cop say’s is - “son - this better not say McLovin on it”.

[Pontiac]

So how will this law be enforced?

It is just incredible how politicians completely ignore all of the experiences of their youth when it comes to making laws once they enter office.

Throughout my youth, beginning in middle school many of my peers smoked and I never remember hearing any of my peers complain about it being difficult to get cigarettes.

As far back as the 1970s it was illegal to sell cigarettes to anyone under the age of 18 and yet kids in middle school are smokers.

If a kid that is obviously not 18 can purchase cigarettes how are you going to stop an 18 year old from purchasing cigarettes?

[IDontLikeToPayTaxes]

Wrong call by Hawaii. A better idea is to increase the tax on cigarettes. ECON 101. An increase in price will result in a decrease in demand.

Liberals laugh their asses off at conservative logic and naivete. It's about CONTROL, not smoking.

[Truth29]

"Hawaii is an island, so they’re not very worried about bootleg cigarettes. It’s not like you can drive to North Carolina and fill up your van."

Ships. Planes. If there is a lot of money to be made, the smugglers will find a way and new criminals will be created.

[StormEye]

Red meat is dangerous to people's health.
The age for eating beef must be raised to 21! Now!
No hamburgers until age 21!
Playgrounds are hazardous!
No kids on swings, slides or monkey bars until they're 15!
Now everybody will be safe.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Let me know when they raise the voting age back up to 21 (which ought to be an imperative).

[Hurricane]

“Now how about raising the age to vote back to 21”

I think the 18 yr olds would vote for a referendum like that if they were able to drink & smoke at 18 like we used to in NY in the 50s. If the’re going to drink and smoke no matter what the law is then it would be beneficial for the country to have a more informed experienced voter.
Yes, i’ve heard the argument that if they can fight in the armed forces they should be able to vote.
I’ve been there, even when there was a draft, and from what I see now as what I experienced then the 18 drink 21 vote is the better option for the country.

[RKBA Democrat]

Good to see YOU!

How you doin?

[RKBA Democrat]

But you can grow it and it’s perfectly legal to do so.

[Bratch]

It just gives Five-O another reason to roust young people.

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“Did you really think we want those laws observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We want them to be broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against... We're after power and we mean it... There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced or objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system, Mr. Reardon, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with.”

― Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

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[Politicalkiddo]

As I keep saying, you can die for your country and vote for your leaders, but God forbid you have a beer before you’re 21. Gotta love government logic.

[CitizenUSA]

“People in bakeries don’t make enough cakes for gay people, we should use the power of government to force compliance or drive them out of business.”

To be fair, I don’t think Drango’s post was in favor of directly forcing compliance so much as taxing Christianity (or any other perceived social ill) to discourage it...

The power to tax isn’t exactly the same as making something illegal. No ill will intended of course. Just tax ‘em enough to encourage responsible behaviors... /s