I don't know why this hit me today, but it did. I was at the corner store on Potrero Hill, looking at a sign I see every day and ignore every day, reminding patrons that nobody under 21 can buy alcohol -- and nobody under 18 can buy tobacco products.
That's the law.
First of all, the drinking age is dumb and dangerous. But why can you smoke at 18, if you can't drink until you're 21? Frankly, tobacco use in high school (and that's what we're talking about) demonstrably leads to a tobacco habit in later life, and that's far more dangerous to personal and public health than a drinking habit. Alcohol, used in reasonable doses, doesn't kill people and may even have some health benefits. Tobacco in any dose is deadly.
I'd much rather have my kids drinking in high school than smoking at any age. I'm not for banning cigarettes, but this particular disparity seems to make no sense at all.