In recent years the teen smoking rate plummeted to the lowest number in 22 years. But some D.C. council-members, tireless in their quest to save “the children,” have now proposed following in New York City’s footsteps and banning all smoking under the age of 21.
This is the city’s second attempt to get cigarettes out of the hands of legal adults. Council member Kenyan McDuffie, who previously introduced the legislation in 2013, argues that it would “reduce our youth’s exposure to a deadly habit.”
“The legislation is our best tool to prevent adolescents from smoking, both presently and in the future as adults,” he said in a statement. He quoted from several reports warning about smoking’s health risk to teens, but conveniently glossed over the parts about the significant decline in actual teen cigarette use in the past 20 years.
And cigarettes are not all Killjoy McDuffie wants to ban—he also introduced separate legislation to outlaw the sale of Palcohol—powdered alcohol—which is set to hit shelves for the first time sometime this year. Some states, like Maryland, have already preemptively banned it.
“I am deeply concerned about the potential threat of alcohol poisoning associated with the use of powdered alcohol, particularly among underage consumers,” he said.
New York City passed their ban on smoking under 21 in 2013, and several other municipalities have similar laws.
The Council Chairman opposes the idea–he’d prefer to simply continue bombarding people with anti-smoking campaigns–but a number of other council members are backing the measure.
