This time it was my home. The facts had become more than just impersonal statistics. The Scripps Howard Texas Poll showed earlier this year that 67 percent of Texas smokers began smoking between the ages of 13 and 19. I didn't want my kid to become part of those statistics as well. The facts are clear.
Tobacco is a public health hazard that needs to be controlled.
It especially needs to be controlled when it comes to underage kids buying and using products that harm their health. Eighty-three percent of them favor a new law that makes it illegal for underage Texans to possess tobacco products. But about half of Texans don't think the new laws will make much difference. It does allow driver's licenses to be revoked for kids caught with tobacco. It does allow fines.