Don’t let opportunity go up in smoke

America remains perplexed about how to deal with smoking, as evidenced by laws being discussed around the nation:

Gainesville, Florida, is trying to prohibit tobacco sales within 1,000 feet of a school, echoes of penalties for drug possession or sex offenders.

Aurora, Illinois, will slap a $100 fine on anyone under 21 in possession of tobacco products.

West Virginia sought to ban smoking in a vehicle that also contained anyone under 16.

Here in Connecticut, lawmakers are considering raising the legal age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21. Hawaii lit that fuse, which caught fire in California, New Jersey, Oregon and Maine. If a handful of states snuffing out butts sounds like a minor movement, consider that some 300 municipalities have done so as well, including those hamlets of New York, Boston and Chicago.

We’re on board. If it’s difficult to reconcile that a teenager who can go to war should have the right to smoke, consider the battle to save millions of people who succumbed to toxins inhaled while smoking.

The effort to raise the age in Connecticut has failed before, and the latest measure carries the added weight of also seeking to ban e-cigarettes or vapor products for anyone under 21.

The state’s Legislative Public Health Committee passed the measure, sending it to consideration in the senate.

Still, there’s a lot of hazy reasoning out there. The chair of the committee, state Sen. Heather Somers, R-Hartford, objected to removing online vape sales because “some of the products don’t contain nicotine.”

We like the idea of discouraging online sales to youths, as it’s allowed a secondary market to arise in classrooms as school administrators and legislators have recognized the potential perils of vaping.

Yes, vaping may not seem as dangerous as grandpa’s cancer sticks, but it hardly falls into the category of a healthy habit. If you don’t think vaping is rising in popularity, you haven’t been on a campus recently.

Other lawmakers voted against the newest measure because it would grandfather in anyone who is already over 18 by the proposed Oct. 1 starting date. That’s right, turn 18 on Sept. 30 and you can smoke for three more years. Turn 18 on Oct. 1 and you must wait that same period.

Anyone fuming over the loss of rights may need a reminder from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which estimates nearly 5,000 Connecticut residents will die from smoking-related causes in 2018.

That figure has dropped over the years, first from recognizing the consequences of smoking, followed by sensible legislation and personal responsibility.

At a time when Connecticut is counting every source of income, lawmakers are willing to cut into the $323 million in revenue from tobacco sales the state collected last year. That’s a fraction of related health care costs.

Regional laws around the nation may be haphazard, but they share a common belief: We need to reduce youth smoking.

At a time when Connecticut is counting every source of income, lawmakers are willing to cut into the $323 million in revenue from tobacco sales the state collected last year. That’s a fraction of related health care costs.