Smoking Age At Washington State - 1445 Words

Tuan Nguyen Donna Miguel English 101 3/16/2015 Smoking age to 21 in Washington State Cigarette smoking has been identified as the number one cause of preventable disease as well as, death worldwide. Today, smoking-related diseases are claiming over 4 00,000 American lives each year. Among people who smoke, 70 percent of them are teenager. Smoking harms almost every organ in the body, causing lung cancer, coronary heart disease, and chronic pulmonary diseases. As a result, researchers have found out that teenagers in Washington State start to purchase tobacco at an early age. The Washington State’s top lawyer was set to unveil legislation seeking to raise legal the smoking age from 18 to 21 (Morris). If the bill would be passed†¦show more content†¦It makes them can easily to become a smoker later. That is why, if the state will raise the smoking age to 21, people will not have a chance to try it. In fact, many municipalities across the country on the other hand have raised the smoking age to 21. For instance, in 2005, the bill was passed in Needham, M assachusetts and in 2012; the percent of smoker had dropped significantly by 50 percent. Besides that, the positive results in regards to decrease in numbers of smokers have made many cities and counties to follow the suit as well. For example, New York City, New York, Hawaii County and many others have reported a drop of 45 percent of their high school smoking rate. That is why; if the bill would be passed successfully, the percent of smoker in Washington State will be reduced. Reducing the percentage of smoker is not the main reason for raising the smoking age to 21 because researches shows that the young adult brain develops between 18 and 21, which is highly susceptible to nicotine addiction (Morris). According to Ferguson, he says, â€Å"The damage tobacco does to the lives and health of Washingtonians is devastating. Research shows that young adult brains are still developing at the age of 18 and 21, and therefore it is highly susceptible to nicotine addiction. Ferguson adds by saying, â€Å"We must do more to protect our youth from tobacco’s grip, and the bill is an important step toward keeping nicotine out