Should the Cities of Utica or Rome raise the minimum smoking age for the sake of local youth? If either city did so, they would be following a growing trend across the country.

According to the Huffington Post, as of June 1, 2016, anyone in the City of San Francisco who wishes to buy tobacco products must be at least 21 years old.

That includes smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes.

The legislation was unanimously approved by the city's Board of Supervisors to raise the smoking age to the same as the National drinking age, from 18 to 21 years old.

Supervisor Scott Wiener told the Associated Press the new law was put in place to keep young citizens "from turning into lifelong smokers."

San Francisco now becomes the second biggest U.S. city to change the minimum smoking age after New York City did the same thing in 2013. More than 100 other cities across the country including Boston have similar laws in place.

On January 1, 2016, Hawaii became the first state to raise the smoking age to 21.

What do you think? Is this a good idea to combat smoking, or should 18 be old enough to make your own decisions?

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