It impairs judgment and should be offered only to adults that are assumed to have developed much responsibility from their teenage years. Unlike alcohol laws, the legal age limit on tobacco is implied to protect the American youth from the unhealthy effects of tobacco. Perhaps we should require people to show identification that proves they don't have high cholesterol levels before ordering greasy foods at fast-food restaurants in order to ensure their health as well. One major tobacco company recently released information that admitted their advertisements were directed toward children under the legal age. Those ads would be hazardous to our society as well, however, gun sales would most likely be on the rise.
Children are much to susceptible to the advertisements they see.
The government is going to have to draw the line somewhere. Ever since T.P.'ing became a fad in junior high, children have yearned for a sense of adventure and danger. What better way to achieve this sense than lighting up a smoke knowing you are breaking the law and easily getting away with it. The age limit does not keep youths away from tobacco. Fake IDs and older acquaintances are more than plentiful in our society.