Progress for good tobacco law in Overland Park
Overland Park this week raised the minimum age for buying tobacco products to 21, which will make it more difficult for youngsters to begin an unhealthy habit.
Good for the City Council, especially the members who deflected absurd concerns that the action makes the city part of a “nanny state.”
Elected officials pass all kinds of laws and ordinances designed to regulate the behavior of citizens.
They set reasonable speed limits, require seat belts in cars and govern how wide sidewalks must be, along with hundreds of other things that affect the day-to-day lives of citizens.
Overland Park became the latest city to responsibly participate in the Tobacco|21 initiative. It’s strongly backed by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City.
Other cities that have adopted the new rules in Johnson County are Olathe, Lenexa and Prairie Village. So have Kansas City and Kansas City, Kan.
Increasing the legal age to 21 curtails smoking among 14- to 15-year-olds because the younger teens often rely on older peers to buy cigarettes for them. Studies have shown that raising the age limit will lead to fewer long-term smokers and reduce overall smoking rates by 12 percent.
During Monday’s debate, Overland Park council member Fred Spears said, “This falls into developing a more inclusive nanny state and one more step toward removing personal choice for people.”
The flip side: People make bad choices all the time — such as drinking and driving — and governments pass laws designed to reduce and punish that behavior.
Smoking is an unhealthy habit, especially at a young age. But cigarette companies want to hook youngsters, hoping to have customers for life.
Well, until they keel over and die for smoking-related reasons.
Overland Park this week made it a bit tougher for young people to puff away, and that’s a good thing.
This story was originally published May 17, 2016 at 9:26 PM with the headline "Progress for good tobacco law in Overland Park."