Lifestyle

California Lawmakers Officially Pass A Bill To Raise The Legal Smoking Age To 21

by Robert Anthony

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls - if you're under 21 years old you may soon be unable to legally purchase and smoke tobacco in the state of California.

On Thursday, California lawmakers made the decision that the state will proceed to put tobacco out of reach for those under 21.

Although the decision passed the state Assembly, ABC News reports all Governor Jerry Brown has to do is sign the legislation to establish the ruling as a law.

The fight for a higher legal smoking age was not, by any means, easy.

In a recent interview,Cathy Callaway, the associate director of state and local campaigns at the American Cancer Society, revealed,

With California having such a huge population, it's going to be very impactful nationwide.

The new bill was backed with data highlighting the fact that most cigarette smokers start under the age of 18. If this becomes a law, it could mean a significant decrease in high schoolers smoking cigarettes.

With every decision, however, comes substantial disagreement.

Opposers of the bill believe that 18-year-olds are old enough to make decisions on their own.

Assembly Republican Leader Chad Mayes stated,

You can commit a felony when you're 18 years old and for the rest of your life, be in prison. And yet you can't buy a pack of cigarettes.

We'll just have to wait and see what Jerry Brown does.

Oh, the anticipation!

Citations: California Lawmakers Approve Raising Smoking Age to 21 (ABC News)