EDITORIAL: Raise legal smoking age to 21

April 09--Rep. Holly Grange, a New Hanover County Republican, should be congratulated for her attempt to raise the legal age to buy tobacco products to 21.

Her House Bill 435 stands little chance of passage in a state where tobacco is still an important economic driver.

In Colonial times, tobacco was one of the few crops that grew well in the poor quality soil of the coastal plains. In the 1800s, an accident resulted in the discovery of the curing process that results in "brightleaf" tobacco, or flue-cured tobacco. As it became popular, the state's prosperity grew.

In 1964, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a report linking smoking to lung cancer and other ailments.

Demand slowly began to lag. In 2005, the quota system ended, along with federal price supports for tobacco growers. In 1992, the U.S. tobacco industry employed more than 80,000 people; by 2012, that number had fallen to 42,531 workers, according to a website linked to Duke University.

Still, North Carolina remains among the nation's top producers, and we've been slow to abandon our attitudes toward smoking. The 1990s and 2000s brought fierce battles over smoking policies for restaurants and bars.

Grange saw her mother die last year of smoking-related causes. Her bill would slowly raise the age for buying cigarettes, chewing tobacco and related products, grandfathering in those age 18-21 today. It sensibly exempts 18-21 year olds serving in the Armed Forces.

Dr. Phillip Brown, chief physician executive at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, lent his support, saying tobacco is a public health issue and the root cause of many diseases.

Some 13.1 percent of high school students in North Carolina smoke, compared with 10.8 percent nationally, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

Many feel that the decision to smoke, to drink alcohol, to eat fatty foods and slurp sugary soft drinks should be left up to the individual.

We have some sympathy for that point of view.

Then again, we remember some of the poor choices we made when we were 18, 19 and 20 years old. Wisdom comes with age. We see no harm in letting young people wait until they attain adulthood before they make the decision to put tar and nicotine in their lungs.

Grange hopes to light a fire under her colleagues in the General Assembly, but she acknowledges that passing such a law in a state known for its tobacco is an uphill battle.

We're glad the eight-year Army veteran is willing to fight for this cause.

___

(c)2017 the Star-News (Wilmington, N.C.)

Visit the Star-News (Wilmington, N.C.) at www.starnewsonline.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.