AUSTIN (WBAP/KLIF News) – The Texas Legislature is considering raising the state’s legal smoking age from 18 to 21 years old.
It’s the fifth time that Senator Carlos Uresti has filed this type of bill but it’s the first time the San Antonio Democrat has had bi-partisan support.
Uresti said if his bill passes, it could save the state $400 million dollars in healthcare expenses for smoking-related diseases over the next five years.
“So the idea is one, save some money for our tax payers. Two, is to try to keep these young teenagers from ever starting to smoke. Statistics prove the longer we can prevent someone from starting to smoke there’s a really good chance that they’ll never start to smoke,” he said.
Critics of the bill argue the state could lose millions of dollars in taxes and consider it an infringement on personal liberties.
“We would probably lose about $12 million dollars in sales taxes every biennium but we will see huge savings down the road,” he said.
Uresti said the legal parameters of his bill are on par with alcohol-related laws.
“When it comes to drinking alcohol we don’t allow men and women to purchase alcohol until the age of 21,” he said.
If the bill passes, Texas will be the third state to increase the legal smoking age to over 19.
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