Jan 25, 2014 – No cigs

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ANCHOR LEAD: WILL REQUIRING PEOPLE TO BE 21 BEFORE THEY CAN PURCHASE
CIGARETTES CURB THE HABIT? ELIZABETH TRACEY REPORTS

People must be 21 years of age or older in order to purchase cigarettes in New York City, the latest of laws related to improving health mandates there. William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, says such laws are already in place elsewhere in the nation, and he’s in favor.

NELSON: Most people who become chronic cigarette smokers have their first cigarette smoking experiences when they are in their teens. Cigarettes are addictive and to make a choice or an accidental choice on something that leads to an addiction that’s difficult to shake is a tough burden to place on a child, an adolescent, or teen. There is even some evidence that adolescent brains are more vulnerable to the addictive properties of things like nicotine. And so the thought is you want to keep things like cigarettes out of particularly young teenagers. I think the key is to stop adolescent smoking by any way possible. :32

At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.