# Smoking Age **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 5, 2023, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140 "2023-10-05T11:57:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2023, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140/21 "2023-10-05T23:50:38Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I agree, except there is no 'right" to smoke. There is an argument that people have a right to do what they want, as long they’re not hurting other people. In other words, freedom. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2023, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140/22 "2023-10-05T23:55:57Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > as long they’re not hurting other people One could perhaps argue that second-hand smoke does, in fact, hurt people; there is copious evidence to support such a position. To my mind, that’s the main difference between nicotine / cannabis and alcohol. It is very difficult to use a product one smokes without polluting the air, and thus the lungs, of people downwind. Of course, we do this all the time by driving, but that doesn’t make it right. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140/23 "2023-10-06T00:55:23Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Vaping very much does create second and third hand smoke issues. But they are unknown and not clear.[In secondhand vape, scientists smell risk | American Heart Association](https://www.heart.org/en/news/2022/05/31/in-secondhand-vape-scientists-smell-risk) _“There is evidence to suggest that e-cigarette use is associated with respiratory conditions and cardiovascular diseases,” she added. “As more evidence becomes available, we may see that this association is causal, both for e-cigarette use and for exposure to secondhand vapor.” Note the “we may see”._ and from your cite-_While we are still learning about the effects of_ _aerosols produced from e-cigarettes, the initial_ _research suggests that the aerosol produced is not_ _safe._ Sure, not safe. But SHS kills 40-50000 Americans a year, mostly kids and the elderly. > [@Procrustus](#): > > There is an argument that people have a right to do what they want, as long they’re not hurting other people. Sure, but see above- smokers not only hurt but kill tens of thousands of Americans a year with second hand smoke > [@Dr.Drake](#): > > One could perhaps argue that second-hand smoke does, in fact, hurt people; there is copious evidence to support such a position. Not an argument. SHS kills. Period. Proven. It kills over 10K in the UK alone. [Secondhand Smoke - ASH](https://ash.org.uk/resources/view/secondhand-smoke#:~:text=It%20has%20been%20estimated%20that%20domestic%20exposure%20to%20SHS%20in,aged%2065%20years%20and%20older). _It has been estimated that domestic exposure to SHS in the UK causes **around 2,700 deaths in people aged 20-63 and a further 8,000 deaths a year among people aged 65 years and older**._ Cannabis is mostly harmless. Mostly. It can be habit forming and driving while high is a bad idea. Booze does hurt second hand- drunk driving and of course ruined families. > [@griffin1977](#): > > The black market is the obvious reason this is a bad idea. Not so much for cigs. Due to the fact that the addiction can be handled by smokeless, nicotine gun or patches, and vaping. Oh, and here is the Ops cite for them- [Britain proposes ban on cigarettes for younger generations | Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-pm-sunak-wants-ban-cigarettes-younger-generations-2023-10-04/#:~:text=MANCHESTER%2C%20England%2C%20Oct%204%20)(,sales%20of%20major%20tobacco%20firms. It would only block the sale of cigs, altho maybe pipes and cigars, but that article didnt mention them, altho Vaping could be restricted. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140/24 "2023-10-06T01:00:50Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > One could perhaps argue that second-hand smoke does, in fact, hurt people; there is copious evidence to support such a position. Agree. But if I’m on my deck, 1/4 mile from the nearest neighbor, the harm is pretty small to everyone but me. Personally I despise smoking and would like to see it go away. I prefer public health approach to prohibition, however. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140/25 "2023-10-06T10:58:00Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > You have to be over 16. 18, since 2007. > [@bob\_2](#): > > One objector claimed that the revenue from tobacco tax more than covered the costs, but he could not provide a valid citation. He also said that by dying early, they saved the taxpayers the cost of their state pensions. This was the clinching argument in _Yes, Prime Minister_ about 40 years ago. They didn’t provide figures either - it would be interesting to see them but not sure it flies as an argument now. I was against the UK smoking ban before it came in, despite not being a smoker - personal freedoms and all that. However, no-one (even smokers) can deny the vast and almost immediate improvement in the atmosphere inside venues like pubs and clubs when it happened, and I wouldn’t go back. There is also a clear public health benefit. On this issue I’m torn between on the one hand this probably will reduce smoking (by making it less accessible), and on the other the fact I believe all drugs should be legal, on the grounds that more harm is caused by making them illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140/26 "2023-10-06T11:14:45Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Cannabis is mostly harmless. Mostly. It can be habit forming and driving while high is a bad idea. And [it may harm the developing brains of teenagers](https://www.cdc.gov/marijuana/health-effects/teens.html#:~:text=Marijuana%20and%20the%20teen%20brain&text=Marijuana%20use%20during%20adolescence%20and%20young%20adulthood%20may%20harm%20the%20developing%20brain.&text=Negative%20effects%20of%20teen%20marijuana,Problems%20with%20memory%20and%20learning) (as long as we’re talking about “smoking age”). ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140/27 "2023-10-06T11:17:56Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > There is an argument that people have a right to do what they want, as long they’re not hurting other people. In other words, freedom. To a point (I almost wrote pint) I agree. Smoking away from others? Yes. Driving w/o a helmet? No. It varies. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140/28 "2023-10-06T13:49:36Z")
> [@Dead\_Cat](#): > > However, no-one (even smokers) can deny the vast and almost immediate improvement in the atmosphere inside venues like pubs and clubs when it happened, and I wouldn’t go back. There is also a clear public health benefit. > > On this issue I’m torn between on the one hand this probably will reduce smoking (by making it less accessible), and on the other the fact I believe all drugs should be legal, on the grounds that more harm is caused by making them illegal. This is a good summary of my feelings as well: I think people should have the right to smoke, but their doing so really does make the world worse for the rest of us: the stench lingers, the litter is omnipresent, and the contamination of indoor spaces is something awful. I sometimes ride the bus with smokers who don’t wash their jackets (this goes for cannabis smokers, too): unpleasant to be around! So I’d like fewer people to smoke, ideally none, but the only way I can see to make that happen is robust public health messaging, punitive taxes, and restrictions on the behaviour in public. As for minimum age, I really would need to know more about addiction. I don’t like the idea of restricting adults from things, and there seems to be an increasing trend to say that 18-year-olds aren’t really adults. But how addictive is casual smoking for a teenager? I’ve heard plenty of scare stories but I don’t know how to assess them. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140/29 "2023-10-06T15:22:49Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > And [it may harm the developing brains of teenagers](https://www.cdc.gov/marijuana/health-effects/teens.html#:~:text=Marijuana%20and%20the%20teen%20brain&text=Marijuana%20use%20during%20adolescence%20and%20young%20adulthood%20may%20harm%20the%20developing%20brain.&text=Negative%20effects%20of%20teen%20marijuana,Problems%20with%20memory%20and%20learning) (as long as we’re talking about “smoking age”). Am not! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140/30 "2023-10-06T17:08:12Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > I sometimes ride the bus with smokers who don’t wash their jackets (this goes for cannabis smokers, too): unpleasant to be around! Just yesterday I was eating at an outdoor table adjacent to the door to the storefront eatery. Several patrons came and went who absolutely reeked of cannabis. Nasty. Now that we don’t (much) smell tobacco smoke wafting off people, the explosion in cannabis-stink is really obvious and really offputting. To be clear, this is not about folks actively smoking either product. This is just about the lingering stink on them and their clothing and hair. Although I rather bet these folks had been blazing in their cars just before getting out to go into the eatery. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140/31 "2023-10-06T17:09:56Z")
Actually the prohibitions on _where_ you can smoke have been enormously effective in cutting down smoking in general. Moreover it largely moots the question of secondary harm. We should stop there for the reasons so clearly spelled out by @Beckdawrek. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140/32 "2023-10-06T17:51:33Z")
I sat behind a cigarette smoker on an airplane once. Of course smoking on the flight was banned. But the odor combined with his off putting aftershave and general b.o. was awful. I think I’d have rather smelled smoke. I seriously considered pulling out the oxygen thingy. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140/33 "2023-10-06T18:20:20Z")
I shower once or twice a day and am careful about hygiene in general. _But_ I smoke cannabis daily and maybe I smell of it. When I smell it on others, I react in a positive manner, however. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140/34 "2023-10-06T18:32:01Z")
While I find the odour unpleasant, most people aren’t really obvious unless you get very very close. It’s just the few that smoke a _lot_ wearing the same outerwear, or sometimes a bag / backpack that doesn’t get washed enough. It’s more obvious for the nicotine users just because their smoking is more frequent throughout the day. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140/35 "2023-10-06T18:42:45Z")
I would also argue that inhaling cannabis smoke, like any combustion products is very bad for the lungs. As more studies come in on vaping it isn’t looking too good either. Its use has been inappropriately both demonized and sanctified. Like anything with consequences its not all good or bad. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140/36 "2023-10-06T19:46:21Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Moreover it largely moots the question of secondary harm. Not even close. The deaths caused by Second hand Smoke are mostly cause dby smoking in the home, around children and the elderly. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140/37 "2023-10-06T19:50:06Z")
You’d probably smell ok to me @kayaker 😊 My Daddy smoked a pipe. I loved his aroma. It was stale cigarettes I smelt on the plane guy. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140/38 "2023-10-06T20:19:20Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > My Daddy smoked a pipe. I loved his aroma. It was stale cigarettes I smelt on the plane guy. Yeah, so did my dad. Mind you you dont wanna be in a room with several pipe smokers puffing away, but a whiff of pipe smoke isnt nasty like cig smoke. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140/39 "2023-10-06T20:30:47Z")
So let me tell you my BIG beef with tobacco. Chewing tobacco! The absolutely disgusting most horrifying addiction short of heroin. It is a true obstacle course to walk through Walmart parking lots around here to avoid the spit, lumps and puddles of its leavings. And oh so lovely when they smile at you. Makes me want to vomit on their feet. I wish that stuff was so outlawed. Skoal type stuff, as well. Rant over. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140/40 "2023-10-06T20:37:42Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > So let me tell you my BIG beef with tobacco. > Chewing tobacco! It _is_ nasty. Not that we have seen that around here. But there aint no such thing as second hand chaw. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-age/991140.md?page=3)