21 is the new 18???

[HIM]

Im tired of having our freedoms taken away because its in our "best interest." Let people make their own choices and live with it. This whole thing is more geared at cigarettes and blunts than cigars though. Cigars are just getting lumped in. I had my first cigar at 16 but I don't know a lot of people that age that smoke them. The younger crowd is usually more about their Bud light and marlboro reds.

[Lynn]

Bud light and marlboro reds....rice beer and imitation hops while you smoke floor sweepings...that is just so cool.

[Nature]

What it comes down to is an attempt at control and shaping choices. The thought is that if the "kids" can be held off for just a few more years to legally purchase tobacco products, then they may be less likely to start up.
See report Here:
Public Health Implications of Raising the Minimum Age of Legal Access to Tobacco Products
We all know and have seen how unbiased and the solid evidence based science the FDA has used. (sarcasm)

This is just false logic.
Can't say that having an age of 21 to purchase alcoholic beverages has stopped many from consuming later on. A legal drinking age of 21 is at least somewhat understandable due to the consequences of impairment. But 21 for tobacco products? And as stated prior, I think this is being targeted at cigarettes but cigars are just being caught in the net.

[Engineer99]

It's all about imagery and the perception that an entity that goes after tobacco is somehow more compassionate and more worthy of your money and votes than another entity the allows adults the freedom to make their own choices. They're just looking out for you and the kids right? That's a big thing here in California that can persuade the populace to actually vote to raise taxes, because if you don't, the Kids will suffer and there'll be on police on the streets, etc...

It doesn't even compute to these people that want to control your every decision in life, that a person of a certain age is legally capable of so many things the privilege of adulthood brings, but cannot partake in other far less consequential things somebody 366 days older can....

[allusred]

It's all about imagery and the perception that an entity that goes after tobacco is somehow more compassionate and more worthy of your money and votes than another entity the allows adults the freedom to make their own choices. They're just looking out for you and the kids right? That's a big thing here in California that can persuade the populace to actually vote to raise taxes, because if you don't, the Kids will suffer and there'll be on police on the streets, etc...

It doesn't even compute to these people that want to control your every decision in life, that a person of a certain age is legally capable of so many things the privilege of adulthood brings, but cannot partake in other far less consequential things somebody 366 days older can....

So right. When young death's something that happens to others,the oldies. So perhaps caution is indicated when drinking AND driving. But tobacco? Whem fourteen, I could buy cigarettes over the counter at Midtown Drugs anytime.Hell,it was a Drug Store.After a couple of packs of Chesterfields or sweet Caporal,I quit cigarettes for good. Never a problem when I started smoking cigars daily three years later.Once into Cigars have just kept on keepin on these sixty three years.

[Dijit]

Tobacco, Christianity, and guns are the new whipping boys of the 21st century. Its a shame to see this being allowed even if I agree with stopping the underage crowd but as I see it, "old enough to vote and old enough to die for our country. Then old enough to be allowed to live and indulge in our country as well."

[Nature]

After falling off the priority list last year, a proposal to raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21-years-old in Amherst, Mass. came back for consideration this spring. While it’s now a priority for the town’s board of health, opposing the proposal doesn’t appear to be a priority for any of the town’s residents as no one showed up to speak against it at a community meeting on Thursday.

TOBACCO PURCHASE AGE INCREASE APPEARS TO HAVE GO-AHEAD IN AMHERST, MASS.

Without public opposition, these new laws increasing the age to purchase tobacco products, and any other anti-tobacco legislation are being passed on greased wheels.

[TCBSmokes]

The drinking age in MA, and elsewhere, is 21, and I can't imagine there is none of that going on at the colleges except for possibly of-age seniors. With the extension to tobacco, the fake id business is just going to proliferate even more. And sadly, those who do imbibe, and get caught, will technically be criminals.

I just wonder if people who actually do wait 'til age 21 to have their very first drink (or tobacco product), then go overboard with their new found liberty, or actually have gained the maturity to not overindulge, or even not try anything then at all.

[StogieNinja]

......... probably better left unsaid.

[TCBSmokes]

Yeah, I think the flavored cigar makers are the stick that initially poked the hornets nest. The alcohol industry has taken their cue with marshmallow flavored vodka, liquor-infused whipped cream and such, but I don't hear the outcry as loud about that, or a push to restrict its marketing and/or display as is proposed for tobacco.

Im tired of having our freedoms taken away because its in our "best interest." Let people make their own choices and live with it. This whole thing is more geared at cigarettes and blunts than cigars though. Cigars are just getting lumped in. I had my first cigar at 16 but I don't know a lot of people that age that smoke them. The younger crowd is usually more about their Bud light and marlboro reds.