**The following article was originally published in Quo Vadis on May 16, 2015**
Localities in our area are raising the cigarette-buying age to 21 to emphasize the benefits of not smoking. The age limit to purchase all tobacco products and electronic cigarettes are being increased.
The harmful effects of smoking can be seen almost everywhere one goes. Lung cancer, rotting teeth and mouth cancer is amongst the many problems smoking can cause. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States. This is about one in five deaths. They go on to say, “Smoking causes more deaths each year than all of these combined: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Illegal drug use, Alcohol use, Motor vehicle injuries and Firearm-related incidents.”
This is why many areas in our county are taking a stand and raising the cigarette-buying age to 21. According to an article posted on nj.com, “Highland Park is joining a recent trend of towns in New Jersey and nationwide that have taken it upon themselves to ban tobacco sales to people under 21. In Middlesex County, Sayreville has also raised the cigarette buying age.”
Tara Canavera, a Highland Park resident and student at the College, doesn’t agree with this movement and says, “If a person is 18 and legal to die for your freedom, then that person should be able to buy what is legal to get at 18 everywhere else. Many people in Highland Park who support the ban called me and another person opposed to this right-wingers and friends of the tobacco lobby.” She goes on to say, “I am not a right-winger, or friend of the tobacco lobby. I am an American citizen who is sick of our rights slowly being taken from us by the government at all levels.” Jeff Wertz, another resident of Highland Park, agrees with this decision and says, “I don’t see it as rights being taken away. I see it as a values issue, this move reflects the values of Highland Park.”
