RT> Do you advocate laws that prohibit selling tobacco to minors and/or
 RT> laws that prohibit them using tobacco?  If so, explain why you support
 RT> those laws and you don't support a law that protects unwilling adults
 RT> from the same substance. -!- * QMPro 1.02 42-7029 * Your tagline?
I do agree with prohibition of tobacco sales to minors, and I certainly see
your point. I also support laws that protect unwilling adults from this
substance. The point I was trying to make is lack of resources, manpower, and
equipment to do what we are already charged to do. Shift Commanders in most
departments already have to prioritize what is done and when. Example: if
there is a serial rapist working during your shift and a parking problem at
the mall, you know what will be taken care of first. I also understand that
smoking is a tremendous health hazard, but illness or death would be a very
long-term event. As a result, it would only be common sense to give much
higher priority to extreme problems which are produced by very short-term
events.
The tobacco problem is very difficult to deal with. If you raise the taxes on
tobacco significantly, a black market will take over the sales. If you
heavily fine a legal vendor for selling to a minor, the minor will simply get
it elsewhere or on the black market. Huge resources would be needed to even
start on the problem, resources most police departments don't have. Example:
during many portions of the year, my department uses what is called
prioritized dispatching. That simply means we don't have enough officers to
even answer the calls at that particular time, and the calls with greatest
impact to citizens are handled first. If you have a gun fight in one location
and a fist fight in another location, and you only have one officer left who
is not tied up, you go to the gun fight. The same problems would exist in the
court system. In short, tobacco problems would probably require additional
resources for the police and the courts.
Tom Rightmer - A Victims' Rights Advocate
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