Could This Across the Board Ban on Cigarettes Happen Soon in Illinois?

Smoking cigarettes can kill you. Laws about cigarettes rarely change. We raise taxes to discourage smoking in Illinois, but maybe this law is more effective.

I Loved Every CIgarette I Ever Smoked

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Both of my parents smoked when I was growing up. I don't remember ever having any thoughts that it was a cool thing to do, it just seemed like it was what you did once you were an adult. There wasn't an adult that lived on my street that didn't smoke, as far as I can remember.

So guess what I did as soon as I turned 18? I bought my first pack of cigarettes. I don't remember a cigarette I didn't enjoy smoking, except for the ones I had to smoke outside in January.

I didn't tell my parents I started smoking, I just waited until they came to visit me at college and I just lit up a smoke as we were walking. I'm an adult now so what could they say to me that would stop me? They were smokers, too.

They did say they wished I had never started the disgusting habit.

Smoking is a Disgusting Habit

It took me 32 years to finally kick this VERY disgusting habit. It was one of the most difficult things I've ever done. I smoked my last cigarette on March 25, 2018. At that time I was smoking about a pack and a half a day at a little over $8 a pack. When I quit, I used an app called Quit Now (iPhone|Android) to keep track of my stats.

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My parents were so right in saying they wished that I had never picked up the disgusting habit of smoking. If I've saved $16k since I quit, how much did I spend in those 32 years? That's disgusting to think about.

I'd love for every young person to stay clear of picking up the smoking habit but the high taxes and the slight bumping up of the legal smoking age aren't enough of a deterrent. Would this new ban proposal from the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, be the law to stop kids from smoking?

New UK Smoking Ban Proposal

Speaking at the Conservative Party conference British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wants to permanently ban smoking. Sunak's plan would ban people in England born on or after January 1, 2009, from ever buying cigarettes.

The smoking age would be raised annually so that means that a 14-year-old today will never be allowed to buy cigarettes legally.

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Could This Across the Board Ban on Cigarettes Happen in Illinois?

As much as my parents had wished I never picked up the habit, I wish the same for other young people, but there's no way a law like this would ever happen in the United States. Much too prohibitive. And of course, there's all that tax revenue gone.