A student built a snowman next to a designated smoking area sign by McKeldin Library on Feb. 13, 2014.
A little more than seven months after this university and other institutions in the University System of Maryland implemented campus smoking bans, the state might make it more difficult for residents younger than 21 to smoke.
State legislators proposed a bill that would raise the minimum age for purchasing and using tobacco products from 18 to 21. The House of Delegates heard the bill on Jan. 28.
Senate Bill 325’s purpose is to keep minors from smoking and having access to cigarettes, said Kathy Dunn, bill sponsor Jennie Forehand’s (D-Montgomery) chief of staff.
“It’s good health policy, legislation like this,” Dunn said.
If passed, the bill analysis noted, decreased tax revenue from tobacco products would lower general fund revenues by about $12.1 million in fiscal year 2015, and small businesses that sell tobacco could see a decrease in sales.
Carlo Colella, administration and finance vice president, said the bill would make smoking laws more consistent with the alcohol-purchasing age and contribute to the campus’s smoke-free environment.
“This would make it harder for many in the university community to purchase tobacco,” Colella said. “Even fewer people on campus would be smoking.”
The state Senate proposal came after the campuswide smoking ban was implemented in July, restricting smokers to a few specific areas on the campus. Since then, university officials have made some adjustments to the designated areas to increase the space between smokers and pedestrians, Colella said.
“I’m new here, so when I first got here it was that way already,” said Rachael Hayes, a freshman elementary education major. “I do still see people smoking who aren’t in the area, but they’re normally good about it.”
As she stood outside McKeldin Library to light a cigarette in the designated smoking area, the 18-year-old said she knew many students younger than 21 who smoke.
If passed, this bill would benefit the health of smokers and those “who are affected by secondhand smoke,” Colella said.
Hayes said that while her access to cigarettes would be limited by the proposed minimum age change, she thought the bill would be beneficial for people younger than 18.
“Less people would start smoking in high school, I think,” Hayes said. “That’s when you start picking it up — you turn 18 and everyone wants to buy cigarettes.”
About 4,200 state residents each year under 18 become regular smokers, according to tobaccofreekids.org. Minors tend to get cigarettes from those who are old enough to purchase them, and if this bill were to pass, it would inhibit kids from acquiring the products, Dunn said.
“There was research that showed truly most smokers get started as teenagers; it’s an act of rebellion,” she said. “Once you’re 21, you’re kind of done with the rebellion.”
Because the drinking age is 21 in the state, Hayes said, it might make sense to pass a bill like this, although she doesn’t expect it to pass with ease.
“I think it will be really difficult,” Hayes said. “Just because it’s been this way for so long, and people are unhappy with the drinking age being 21.”
New York City raised its tobacco-purchasing age to 21 in November, and legislators in Utah — which already has the highest minimum smoking age in the country, at 19 — are pushing for an increase to 21.
In this state, 18-year-olds are legally adults and can enlist in the military and play the lottery. If this bill passed, it would restrict adults’ behavior, said Bruce Bereano, a Maryland Association of Tobacco and Candy Distributors lobbyist.
“It’s an absurd proposal, and it’s exceedingly discriminatory,” Bereano said. “You’re an adult at age 18, and you’re either an adult or not an adult.”
Dunn said she “can’t predict” whether or not the bill will pass, but she said the financial impact could have a large influence on its success. But Bereano said he doesn’t expect it will be enforced if passed, as it comes off as an “inconvenience” to those who wish to smoke.
Small businesses potentially could lose money from this bill, but health problems that arise from young people starting to smoke or those who are exposed to smoke create costs for the state, Dunn said.
But Bereano said although taxpayers might be responsible for health care, those who put their lives at risk in ways other than smoking also impact health care. If there continue to be laws centered on tobacco, whether taxes or age constraints, people might leave the state to acquire the product or ignore the law altogether, he said.
“Where are we starting, and where are we stopping? Say we do this for tobacco, what’s next?” Bereano said. “It’s very illogical.”
This bill comes almost two years after the state implemented a tax hike on tobacco products. While tax increases on the products have been “effective on slowing down” minors’ smoking habits, Dunn said, a bill like this could cut off their access to a “highly addictive” substance.
Bereano said another tax increase is not probable any time soon, but smokers who are engaging in a “lawful activity” do so despite the expense of high taxes.
“I’ve thought for years that smokers are being treated in a very discriminatory, disrespectful fashion,” he said. “We’re just showing no respect at all.”
Hayes said although she and her smoking peers on the campus continue to purchase cigarettes and smoke, the rise in prices isn’t comforting.
“I mean, it definitely makes me want to quit more,” Hayes said. “They’re so expensive.”
