Nationwide Fight Begins Over Raising Tobacco Age to 21

[Xithras]

6. I dislike all laws that strip rights from some adults, but not others.

Whether with good intentions or otherwise, this law is inherently discriminatory. An 18 year old is an adult under our legal system, with all of the rights and privileges that come along with being an adult. Stripping rights because we think that some adults are too immature to handle something sets a dangerous precedent.

And before anyone brings up the drinking age, the 21 year old age limit BARELY survived a Supreme Court challenge on 14th Amendment equal protection grounds because its backers were able to show that young drinkers were dying at a substantially higher rate than the rest of the population. Like it or not, smoking opponents can't make that same argument (18 year olds generally die of smoking at the same rate as anyone else). The criteria set forth by the Supreme Court in that ruling don't apply to tobacco products.

An adult is an adult. Like it or not.