By raising the limit further to 21, the legislation is geared towards curbing and preventing smoking habits for young people.
View full sizeCodey's legislation would look to raise the current age to purchase tobacco products from 19 to 21. But for Doherty, a Republican whose 23rd District covers parts of Warren and Hunterdon counties, legislation introduced May 16 by state Sen. Richard Codey, D-Essex, along with a state assemblyman, that would raise New Jersey's tobacco purchase age from 19 to 21 is gag-worthy in its own right.
"I despise smoking and I would never smoke, but I've always voted against these restrictions," Doherty said.
The bill would pick up where Codey left off in 2006, when as governor he signed legislation raising the age limit for purchasing tobacco products from 18 to 19.
"We are sending a message to young people that to smoke is no joke," Codey said last week in a statement.
By raising the limit to 21, the legislation is geared towards curbing and preventing smoking habits for young people.
"It's during the formative years between 18 and 21 that many casual smokers become addicted," Codey said. "This will buy them time to make a more mature decision about a habit that becomes harder to break the longer they smoke."
It's not the purpose of the bill, but rather its regulatory nature that bothers Doherty, who intends to vote against it if it makes its way onto the Senate floor.
"We live in a free country," Doherty said. "If people want to smoke, let them."
Assemblyman John DiMaio, a Republican also representing the 23rd District, agrees with Doherty's assessment.
DiMaio said that while he doesn't support smoking either, he believes it's a "personal choice" that shouldn't be further regulated.
Discussion on the possibility of raising the purchase age has also resonated in tobacco-selling shops on both sides of the Delaware River.
Valorie Balliet handles cigarette orders at the Milford Market, a grocery and liquor store on Bridge Street in Milford just steps away from the free bridge connecting the town to Upper Black Eddy.
With Pennsylvania already offering consumers the ability to buy tobacco products a year earlier than in New Jersey, raising the age to 21 would only send more business across the bridge, Balliet said.
"It's definitely going to hurt business here," Balliet said.
Business aside, Balliet said it's ridiculous to think that an 18-year old can enlist in the military but not be allowed to buy a pack of cigarettes in New Jersey.
"If you can serve your country at the age of 18, you should be allowed to smoke," Balliet said.
In Downtown Easton at the Lu-Co Tobacco Outlet, owner Divyesh Desai acknowledges that the bill has the potential to drive more customers in his direction.
"It might bring a little bit more," Desai said.
From a policy standpoint, Desai said he understands what the bill is trying to do.
But he said that in his experience, he's seen kids go to great lengths to purchase cigarettes illegally, even if that means getting their parents to go in and do it for them. Raising the limit to 21 won't have the intended effect it's aiming for, he said.
"They're going to get it anyway," Desai said.
That's a sentiment not lost on DiMaio.
"If it's not legal here, they're going to go somewhere else," he said.