There's nothing wrong with fining a person who makes an illegal purchase, but the sizes of these fines are upside-down. Not good enough. It even says it would be illegal for a newspaper to do that sort of thing. Furthermore, under these bills, cigarette machines, which are the easiest source of cigarettes for the youngest smokers, could be rolled out of restricted areas, like taverns, and plugged in anywhere, including places where no one checks the age of those making purchases. While House Bill 1501 calls for smoking cessation and other programs for arrested teenagers, it contains no funding to pay for them.
Serious bills provide money for the initiatives they mandate.
The lobbyists say they will propose other changes to respond to criticism of the bills. A better idea would be to give up and start over with successful programs like the Lehigh Valley's, the model for a statewide effort. E-mail this story to a friend.