2016年5月北京地区成人本科学士学位英语统一考试真题

The California lawmakers voted Thursday to raise the legal age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21. The measure is part of a larger package of laws aimed at reducing tobacco use. If Governor Jerry Brown signs the bill, California will become the second state, after Hawaii, to raise the age limit for buying cigarettes and other tobacco products. More than 100 cities in the U.S., including New York and Boston have already raised the age limit.

A week ago, the California Assembly approved the measure, which—in addition to raising the age limit—treats electronic cigarettes the same as tobacco products, expands smoke-free areas, increases smoking bans and allows counties to collect higher taxes on cigarettes than the 87-cent per pack state tax. The Assembly's vote came a few days after the city of San Francisco increased the age to buy tobacco products to 21.

California lawmakers passed the bill despite lobbying(游说) from tobacco interests. The measure also faced opposition from many Republicans, who said the state should not be involved in policing people's personal choices. "I don't smoke. I don't encourage my children to," said Republican Assemblyman Donald Wagner. "But they're adults, and it's our job to treat our citizens as adults."

But supporters of the bill say raising the age to 21 moves legally purchased to tobacco that much farther from younger kids. "This will save the medical system millions of dollars," said Democratic Assemblyman Jim Wood. (76) "It will save thousands of lives." A 2015 study by the Institute of Medicine "found that if the minimum legal age to buy tobacco were raised to 21 nationwide, tobacco use would drop by 12 percent by the time today's teens reached adulthood. In addition, there would be 223,000 fewer premature(过早的) deaths and 50, 000 fewer deaths from lung cancer."