I agree that tobacco access will drip down over to the younger generations, however, should a decent percentage of stores or users comply with this:
1. Market will shrink, making tobacco more difficult to obtain for current users and suppliers
2. Population will age, and it will become harder and harder for new generations to obtain access.
3. At some point, the policy might be considered excessive and abolished. However, there is no time frame for that. 5 years? 50 years? Will it have accomplished anything?
4. (same as your last point) As legalization of other drugs seems to gain traction, this seems like a weird position to take. Would illegal trafficking of tobacco increase, with the usual downsides?
Instead of a blanket ban, would a huge tax increase work better? Keeping the same age restrictions. I can imagine most people preferring a legal, though more expensive, procurement source. Of course, that discriminates against a growing part of the population, but so does a ban. And in both cases, it helps you not to take up the habit in the fist place.
1. Market will shrink, making tobacco more difficult to obtain for current users and suppliers
2. Population will age, and it will become harder and harder for new generations to obtain access.
3. At some point, the policy might be considered excessive and abolished. However, there is no time frame for that. 5 years? 50 years? Will it have accomplished anything?
4. (same as your last point) As legalization of other drugs seems to gain traction, this seems like a weird position to take. Would illegal trafficking of tobacco increase, with the usual downsides?
Instead of a blanket ban, would a huge tax increase work better? Keeping the same age restrictions. I can imagine most people preferring a legal, though more expensive, procurement source. Of course, that discriminates against a growing part of the population, but so does a ban. And in both cases, it helps you not to take up the habit in the fist place.