Smoking has become a huge health problem in America. Every year, Utah alone spends $345 million on tobacco-related health care. Some states have debated raising the legal smoking age to 21; Not only would this reduce the number of smokers in the 18-21 age group, but it would also reduce the number of underage smokers. Many states are hesitant about whether or not to raise that age, but it would save the lives of thousands. Raising the age wouldn't be the ideal solution to keeping all young adults away from cigarettes, but it could prevent generations from wasting their lives. Most smokers try their first cigarette at age 11. When an 11 year old tries a cigarette it seems like it's not really a big deal, it's not good but it's not the end of the world. You'd think they'd hate it and never go back, but in every cigarette there's enough nicotine to make someone addicted. A person will inhale 1 to 2 milligrams of nicotine from each cigarette, which is just enough to trigger an addiction. This means a 5th grader could be addicted to cigarettes for the rest of their life. Out of three young smokers, only one will quit and one of the others will die from a tobacco-related illness. This means that out of every three smokers under the age of 21, one will die. 90% of smokers start before the age of 21, which means 30% of all smokers will die. The Surgeon General reported that 90% of all smokers started smoking before the age of 18. America needs a way to keep teens from smoking and a way to stop smoking. The solution is to keep the legal age a little further out of reach. If the age was raised, it would be much harder for teenagers to obtain cigarettes, leading to fewer smokers by the age of 21. By age 20, experimental smokers become regular ... middle of paper ..... .smokers decline. With so many regulations, the number of smokers and packs sold must decrease and, hopefully, so must the number of tobacco-related deaths. Many states want to raise the legal smoking age to 21 to help reduce the number of smokers in America. We need to raise the age to help keep young adults away from cigarettes. Smokers become regular smokers around the age of 20, so this law will prevent many people from becoming addicted. Raising the age will also keep many underage smokers away from tobacco. In addition, new laws will make it almost impossible for those under 21 to access cigarettes. Many people think it is unfair to raise the age at which 18-year-olds can serve our country. However, do we want them to also risk their lives by smoking? Every cigarette smoked shortens your life by 11 minutes, so we need to pass this law before 11 minutes is just a drop in the bucket..