A plan to bump Idaho’s legal smoking age from 18 to 21 has failed to win enough support among conservative state lawmakers wary of curbing individual freedoms.
The bill, sponsored by Boise Republican Senator Fred Martin, would have applied to smoking, chewing tobacco, and using alternative nicotine products such as e-cigarettes.
The goal was to join California and Hawaii as the only other states to ban smoking until age 21.
The Senate State Affairs Committee Friday narrowly voted to defeat the bill after a two-hour hearing.
Opponents argued that the proposal would strip rights from young people who are considered responsible enough to vote, be charged as an adult with a crime, and serve in the military. (AP)
