Could Hawaii's Radical Anti-Smoking Legislation Come To Louisiana

101.7 / 710 KEEL's Robert J Wright and Erin McCarty discuss the recent legislation introduced in Hawaii that would, in effect, ban cigarettes by 2024 and wonder if that radical legislation could ever come to Louisiana.

The proposal would raise the minimum age for cigarette purchases in the state from 21 to 30 in 2020, to the age of 50 in 2022 and by 2024, only Hawaiians over the age of 100 would be allowed to buy them.

More details from khon2.com:

"Hawaii could be the first state in the U.S. to ban the sale of cigarettes, if a current proposal becomes law.

Adults younger than age 30 could be legally prohibited from buying cigarettes in less than a year's time -- and all cigarette sales would be banned in Hawaii in five years -- under a bill by State Representative Richard Creagan. The bill was co-signed by Representatives John Mizuno, also a Democrat, and Cynthia Thielen, a Republican."

The bill's backers say that the current taxation on tobacco products just isn't doing enough to eliminate smoking. Again, from khon2.com, quoting one of the sponsors:

"We're taxing them, that did decrease use somewhat, but we still have 140,000 people in our state that smoke cigarettes. You don't see them as much anymore, because we kind of made them hide. But, they're going to die, half of them are going to die if they keep smoking, and we can prevent that."

To read complete details of Hawaii's proposed anti-smoking legislation, JUST CLICK HERE!