Boise (670 KBOI News) – It’s back…a bill which would raise the smoking age in Idaho from 18 to 21 was introduced in the Idaho Senate State Affairs Committee.
It’s slightly different from a bill introduced by Senator Fred Martin of Boise in last year’s session. In re-introducing the draft bill, he said he feels a bit like a character from the movie “Galaxy Quest”.
“Tim Allen, who played the Captain of the starship The Protector, had a slogan…it was, ‘never give up, never surrender’,” said Martin. “I want to thank this committee, for those that were on it last year, gave us tremendous insight and suggestions to make this better.”
The bill was defeated in committee last year. Opponents said if people are old enough to serve in the military, to vote and to be charged as an adult in court, they’re old enough to smoke or use other types of tobacco. The bill would also restrict use of e-cigarettes.
According to the website tobacco21.org, five states have raised their smoking age to 21…California, Hawaii, Oregon, New Jersey and Maine.
