Smoking has become a huge health problem in America. Each year, Utah alone spends $345 million on health care costs related to tobacco use. Some states are discussing raising the smoking age to 21; This would not only reduce the number of smokers in the 18-21 age group, but also reduce underage smokers. Many states are undecided about whether or not to raise the age, but doing so would save the lives of thousands of people. Raising the age wouldn't be the perfect solution to keeping all young people away from cigarettes, but it could prevent entire generations from throwing their lives away. Most smokers try their first cigarette at age 11. When an 11 year old tries a cigarette it seems like it's no big deal, it's not good, but it's not the end of the world. You'd think they'd hate it and would never go back, but there's enough nicotine in every cigarette to make someone addicted. A person inhales 1 to 2 milligrams of nicotine from each cigarette, enough to start an addiction. This means that a fifth grader could be addicted to cigarettes for the rest of his life. Out of 3 young smokers only one will quit and one of the remaining will die from a tobacco-related disease. This means that out of three smokers under the age of 21, one will die. 90% of smokers start smoking before the age of 21, so this means that 30% of all smokers will die. The Surgeon General reported that 90% of all smokers started smoking before age 18. America needs a way to keep teenagers away from cigarettes, and one way to solve that is to keep the legal age a little further out of reach. If the age were moved up, it would be much harder for teenagers to smoke, resulting in fewer smokers by age 21. In their 20s, experimental smokers become regular…middle of paper…declining smokers. With so many regulations, the number of smokers and packs sold must decrease and hopefully so will the number of tobacco-related deaths. Many states want to raise the smoking age to 21 to help reduce the number of smokers in America. The age needs to be raised to keep young people away from cigarettes. Smokers become regular smokers in their 20s, so this law will prevent many from developing addiction. Raising the age will also drive many underage smokers away from tobacco. Additionally, the new laws will make it nearly impossible for anyone under 21 to obtain cigarettes. Many people think it is unfair to raise the age at which 18-year-olds can serve our country. But do we want them to risk their lives by smoking too? Every cigarette smoked shortens your life by 11 minutes, so we must pass this law before 11 minutes becomes just a drop in a bucket.