Current laws state that people can smoke at age 18, but have to wait until they are 21 until they can have a drink. Both alcohol and tobacco are considered drugs in today's society, so why is there an age difference for participation between the two. This fact alone stands as a huge inconsistency going back to when people know when they become adults. Since, at 18, a person can fight in war and smoke cigarettes legally, shouldn't that person be considered an adult and be able to drink alcohol? At this point, our contradictory laws do not agree, but it is time for a change. Smoking and alcohol laws need to be at the same age. .
While it is agreeable that a person should be 18 before they have the chance to smoke, I believe smoking is more of a moral issue rather than a legal one. Choosing to smoke should be 100 percent up to the individual. In parts of Europe, drinking and smoking are open to parental discretion, and these countries have less problems with drinking and smoking than here in America. Indeed, smoking can cause serious risks to one's health. However, one should not have to be a certain age before you can make a choice to smoke cigarettes. Instead of setting an age to legally be able to smoke, parents should lecture and inform their children not to smoke at all. They should tell their children how smoking causes lung cancer and that it will shorten the number of years that a smoker lives.