Backward Increase In Smoking Among Young Adults

"I'm going to lose a lot of business," deli owner Wadah Arbuya told CBS New York. "I'm going to get hurt big time. Half my sales of cigarettes is between 18 and 21." If this legislation is making a large impression on a deli owner, it will substantially impact those owners of smoke shops, selling predominately all tobacco products.

These kids account for 90 percent of all new smokers. In fact, 90 percent of all

Over the last few decades, tobacco and nicotine prevention efforts have risen to an all time high. Prevention efforts focus on education to the public of the negative effects on one’s health when using tobacco and nicotine products, as well as with pleas to healthcare policymakers to increase restrictions on product manufacturing and sales. One policy effort growing in popularity in the United States is called Tobacco 21, which proposes to raise the legal age of purchase for consumers of tobacco and nicotine products to 21 years of age (Farber, Pakhale, & Neptune, 2016). Farber, Pakhale, and Neptune (2016) state that 90% of tobacco and nicotine users begin smoking before the age of 18, with 99% of users starting before the age of 26. Lower smoking cessation rates are associated with earlier ages of initiation and the tobacco industry is known to target youth in advertisement of these products lending to the early age of initiation. The tobacco industry themselves admit that increasing the age allowed for purchase to exclude youth would substantially effect their sales. Tobacco 21 laws also deter adolescents from gaining tobacco or nicotine products from friends 18 to 21 years of age, which is the most likely age group to supply younger teens. With this knowledge, placing tighter restrictions on consumers younger than 21 years of age, using the Tobacco 21 policy, may deter tobacco and nicotine initiation in hopes to prevent individual use at all in the future (Farber

In 2005, Needham, Massachusetts, has passed a regulation that banned the tobacco sale to anyone under 21. This regulation has achieved great success. The number of smoking students in high school has decreased by 47%. Smoking rate has decreased rapidly after 30 days and the 60% of frequent smoking

If 90% of United States smokers could have another chance to redo it, they reported that they would not even have their first puff that initiated their tobacco addiction (Winickoff, Gottlieb, and Mello 2014). The Tobacco 21 bill is a fairly new legislation and already it has shown a decline in underage smokers as a result of its implementation. The results of the survey presented that the public opinion was largely accepting and supportive of the bill. The main argument against the bill is the harm that will come to retailers of tobacco products. Correspondingly, the argument is proven inaccurate and in favor of the bill. The past has shown the improved outcome of the country from the raise in the minimum alcohol age, and researchers regard

Since the passage of the California Tobacco Health Protection Act, the smoking rates among California adults have decreased by 42%. From 1990 to 1993, the smoking rates among the youth population for those ages 12 to 17 dropped down to 9.1%. From 1989 to 1993, Proposition 99 helped in the reduction of cigarette consumption by 802 million packs of cigarettes. The smoking prevalence in adults has also decreased from 26.7% in 1988 to 15.5% during the first half of 1995 (Cokkinides et al., 2009). Hence, cigarette consumption and smoking prevalence rapidly declined after the implementation of Proposition 99.

The Institute of Medicine found that children, who are born between 2000 and 2019, would suffer 249,000 fewer premature deaths and 45,000 fewer deaths from lung cancer, when the legal age to purchase tobacco is increased from 18 to 21 years old (atg.wa.gov 2016). Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S, which causes many chronic health complications such as heart disease, cancer, and lung disease (atg.wa.gov 2016). Raising the legal age to purchase tobacco products to 21 in Washington state will decrease the use later in adult life specifically, ages 15 to 17 who are targeted the most through tobacco companies due to their vulnerability and gives loyalty to a specific tobacco company from the addiction of nicotine. Needham, Massachusetts campaigned to raise the legal age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21 in 2005 and won. Results are already compelling, showing that between 2006 and 2012 Needham’s high school smoking rate dropped more than half among girls and boys (atg.wa.gov 2016). Given that nicotine can be such an addictive drug and be seen to be used as a coping mechanism, specifically ages 15 to 17 through their developing stages of life, needs to encounter harder access to get their hands on tobacco products. According to the Center of Disease Control, one in 13 Americans age 17 or younger alive today are estimated to die prematurely due to the effects of smoking (atg.wa.gov 2016). Raising the legal age to

It makes them can easily to become a smoker later. That is why, if the state will raise the smoking age to 21, people will not have a chance to try it. In fact, many municipalities across the country on the other hand have raised the smoking age to 21. For instance, in 2005, the bill was passed in Needham, Massachusetts and in 2012; the percent of smoker had dropped significantly by 50 percent. Besides that, the positive results in regards to decrease in numbers of smokers have made many cities and counties to follow the suit as well. For example, New York City, New York, Hawaii County and many others have reported a drop of 45 percent of their high school smoking rate. That is why; if the bill would be passed successfully, the percent of smoker in Washington State will be reduced.

In 2014, 24.6% of high school students reported that they used some type of tobacco product in the past 30 days (‘National Youth Tobacco Survey’). There are several factors that influence youth to begin using tobacco. Although it is clear that peer pressure can initiate smoking, multiple studies find that tobacco marketing causes an increase in youth tobacco use.

The California State Senate approved legislation Thursday to raise the age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21, as well as regulate the use of electronic cigarettes in places where tradition smoking is already prohibited. While lawmakers say this legislation will prevent young adults from using tobacco, research indicates similar legislation does little to actually prevent teenagers from becoming smokers. In addition, the move to regulate electronic cigarettes casts these items in an unjust light, especially by treating these items similar to traditional

An estimated 36.5 million or 15.1 % of adults aged 18 years old and older currently smoke cigarettes and more than 16,000,000 have smoking or live with diseases that are related to smoking. According to US department of health and human services, over the past five decades, there is a significant decline in cigarette smoking in the U.S. The progress has slowed in recent years and the prevalence of use of other tobacco products such as vapes, e-cigars and smokeless tobacco

Underage smoking is a serious problem as because most smokers start smoking before age eighteen (Leatherdale et al, 2011). As nicotine, the element in cigarette is addictive, once one starts to smoke it is hard for him or her to give it up. Additionally, most teenagers believe they will give up smoking once they are tired of it; unfortunately, most of them become lifelong smokers. If we could stop

Nowadays students are not only being pressured to smoke by their peers and by their surrounding, but they are also watching their parents smoke. Many teens have been influenced by

One of the largest issues today is adolescent smoking. According to a heath based website, nearly 90% of adult smokers start while they are still teens and they never intend to get hooked. They may start by bumming a cigarette or two from a friend at a party, and then go on to buying an occasional pack. Soon they realize that they can't go without that pack. They've gotten used to reaching for a cigarette first thing in the morning, after meals, or during any stressful time. They become addicted, both physically and psychologically. According to the American Lung Association, each day 6,000 children under the age of 18 smoke their first cigarette. Almost 2,000 of them will become regular smokers – that’s 757, 000 new smokers annually!

Tobacco; one of the most profitable products in history, an addictive substance, and a deadly killer. Smoking tobacco used to be a thing that was endorsed in American society. Now, with the new medical advances and knowledge, society has seen the side effects of smoking and how fatal it actually is. Teenagers have been one of the largest age groups that have been affected by smoking. After analyzing all possible reasons as to why teenagers would smoke while knowing it can affect their health, three possible reasons stuck out the most. Teenagers smoke despite knowing the health problems that originate from smoking because of peer pressure, an “invincibility” mentality, and seeing a role model or family member smoke.