Stage Five: Original editorial or commentary #1

     On Marche 28^th, proponents of tobacco products, especially the vapor shop owners, are testifying against a bill that would effectively raise the smoking age from 18 to 21. There are many pros and cons to both sides of the argument that will determine if Texas will join two other states to raise their smoking age over 19.

            

      I believe the Texas government should be the third state to raise the legal smoking age above the age from 18 to 21 years of age. Just from a basic ethical standpoint, it is indisputable that smoking is detrimental to one’s health. Although raising the smoking age only delays the eventuality of smoking for some, the age of 18 to 21 still proves to be a developmental stage for bodies of young men and women. Also, it would be hard to argue against the health benefits of 3 years of delayed start in smoking.

            

       From a political standpoint, the main argument for raising the smoking age would be the estimated $406 million in savings for health care costs over 5 years—equating to approximately $5.6 billion in savings over 25 years as found by the Department of State Health Services (per DallasNews). Tobacco products have also proved to be a preventable cause of cancer that kills more people than alcohol, AIDS, illegal drugs, car crashes, murders, and suicides combined in Texas yearly as stated by Dr. Ganesh, a proponent of the bill that would raise the legal age of smoking.

            

       The basic arguments against not raising the legal age would be that the revenues from taxing tobacco products would be a big loss. However, it is estimated at $64 million in tax revenue savings, which is not enough to overcome the savings from health care. Not only does the savings from health care outweigh the loss in tax revenue, the immeasurable lives that would be spared from less smoking outweighs any argument for not raising the smoking age. It would be wise to not put short-term gains in tax revenue over ethical as well as long-term health care savings that would result from raising the smoking age.

Background article: Vapor shop owners and doctors go head-to-head during hearing to raise smoking age to 21