Raise legal smoking age from 18 to 21 says Texas senator

Texas state senator, Carlos Uresti, is calling for the legal smoking age to be raised from 18 to 21, according to a report by Karen Grace for KVUE.

Uresti says that more than 503,000 people now under the age of 18 will die prematurely from tobacco-related illnesses.
“If this bill passes, 33 per cent of our 18, 19 and 20-year-olds will never start to smoke,” Uresti was quoted as saying. “That’s significant.”

But what about the money the state budget would sacrifice from fewer cigarette sales? “I think it’s a shame that we are relying on these young adults to smoke to balance our budget,” Uresti added.