EDITORIALS

Support for bill to keep tobacco away from youth

Staff Writer
Fosters Daily Democrat

Dover Youth to Youth has once again chosen a cause worth fighting for — raising the age for sales and possession of tobacco products from 18 to 21 years old in New Hampshire.

It's a battle we should all support because the health and well-being of New Hampshire's children is at stake.

Youth to Youth, an empowerment group for local high school and middle school students that began more than 25 years ago, has waged some very successful battles against substance misuse and the big business interests that sometimes fuel it. The organization is an after-school drug-prevention program coordinated by the Dover Police Department Community Outreach Bureau and is open to students in sixth-12th grade in local schools in Dover.

They may be just kids, but Youth to Youth members aren't rookies and don't pull any punches. They have launched fearless, pointed awareness campaigns against big tobacco and companies that market drug and alcohol paraphernalia and merchandise to kids. Their work has garnered national attention and they have spread their youth empowerment model to communities across the country.

The organization is no stranger to the legislative arena. Dover Youth to Youth nailed its first piece of statewide legislation back in 2000 when they got behind a bill to make it illegal to sell rolling papers to kids or for kids to possess them. It was called the Zig Zag Project, after the famous brand of rolling papers. Clever marketing is second nature to this savvy group of teens and preteens.

This time, they have set their sights on a powerful target and have gotten important people to listen. Youth to Youth members held a press conference on Monday to announce their initiative to raise the tobacco age in New Hampshire. They were accompanied by District 4 state Sen. David Watters, D-Dover, who has already agreed to sponsor the legislation. On the other side of the aisle, state Sen. Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, who is also the Senate's majority leader, is co-sponsoring the bill.

The argument for the legislation is clear and one with which we strongly agree. The current law allows older high school students to purchase tobacco legally, which they can then provide or sell to those under 18, though that is illegal.

"By raising the age to 21, a young teen would have to know or find someone at least the age of 21 to buy tobacco products for them, which would increase the difficulty," Youth To Youth said in a press release.

Watters's legislation would raise the age for sales or possession from 18 to 21 for tobacco and tobacco-related products, such as rolling papers. The bill, as proposed, would also cover electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigs.

New Hampshire's legislation is part of a growing movement to raise the tobacco age nationwide. The Maine Legislature, after overriding a gubernatorial veto, passed a similar bill this past summer that will go into effect in July. California, Hawaii and New Jersey are the other states that have raised the tobacco age limit.

The importance of keeping tobacco out of the hands of children cannot be understated. According to Watters, "tobacco remains the number one preventable cause of death and disease in New Hampshire, which has some of the highest under-21 smoking rates in the nation."

Watters also points to these facts:

• The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids estimates that there are 22,000 youth under the age of 18 living in New Hampshire today who will ultimately die prematurely from smoking unless we are able to break the cycle.

• A report from the National Academy of Medicine found that raising the minimum age for legal purchase to at least 21 years old will significantly reduce smoking rates and save thousands of lives.

• The cost of health-related illnesses and deaths from smoking is staggering in New Hampshire — 1,900 annual deaths, and over $1 billion in negative impact on the state ($729 million in annual health costs and $506.9 million in lost work productivity).

We expect lobbyists and those with Libertarian sensibilities to wage war against this bill, but our money's on this formidable group of kids. We hope to see Dover Youth To Youth seal the deal on yet another big legislative win — a win that will benefit every young person in the Granite State.