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Hawaii is considering a bill that bans cigarette sales to anyone under 100
(CNN) "The legislature finds that the cigarette is considered the deadliest artifact in human history."
So begins the text of a new bill introduced in Hawaii's State House, calling for a phased ban on cigarette sales in the state by 2024.
Hawaii has some of the most restrictive cigarette laws in the nation. In 2016, it became the first state to raise the age to buy cigarettes to 21. Now, its new bill calls for raising the cigarette-buying age to 30 by next year, up to 40, 50 and 60 in each subsequent year, and up to 100 by 2024.That would effectively clear Hawaii's store shelves of cigarettes, although tourists could still bring them in.
And curiously, Hawaii would offer its centenarians the chance to buy cigarettes near the end of their life -- if they could find them.
Can't we instead simply restrict kids under 100 to designated smoking areas?
(Score: 2) by boltronics on Tuesday February 05 2019, @07:02PM
Japan isn't a great example. I've never been to Japan either, but I know there are generally designated outside areas to smoke in restricted areas. Unfortunately those areas can be just 5m away from a non-smoking standing area, so their effectiveness is questionable. In any case, my understanding is that the number of streets where smoking is restricted is still not that great.
One of my colleagues went to Japan on vacation a few months back, and he said (as a non-smoker living in Australia) that smoking was one of the worst things about the country. Since it's increasingly becoming socially unacceptable to smoke on the street, everyone smokes indoors. Restaurants often don't have much division between smoking and non-smoking (if any) so most people end up inhaling cigarette smoke much more in many restaurants than if it were more acceptable on the street.
Thankfully, there are many further smoking restrictions being introduced ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games which should at least see better division between smoking and non-smoking areas in restaurants. If I ever visit Japan, it won't be until these issues are addressed.
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