would pay, would go to the officer. This would be an added incentive for police to keep their eye out. The advantages of this policy would be it’s simplicity. The teenagers are punished for smoking illegally. Police officers would want to keep an eye out because of the simplicity and the incentive. There wouldn’t be much extra work. When Illinois introduced it’s law, lawmakers it said that the penalties against minors would work in conjunction with existing laws against merchants as an overall attack on underage smoking. If Ohio were to do the same thing, teenage smoking could really be cut down. Maybe other states would follow our example.The benefits of this policy would be tremendous to our country and our population. If fewer teens start smoking, years from now there will be fewer adult smokers, which means fewer smoking-related deaths. Health care costs could be cut dramatically. The government would have to spend less money on anti-smoking campaigns that don’t work and treatments for ex-smokers. And the government would make money from the fines collected. Who knows, maybe eventually smoking could eventually become extinct. Yes, I may be dreaming, but if you must know, I am Stephanie. And I know that as a smoker of seven years, I wish there had been laws years ago preventing me from starting. I know that if it was illegal, I never would have done it and became as addicted as I am today. A law in Ohio that prohibits teens from smoking could prevent teens from starting, and prevent their regrets years later....
