§ 23-20.9-2 - Legislative findings.
SECTION 23-20.9-2
§ 23-20.9-2 Legislative findings. –(a) It has been determined that smoking is the leading cause of preventabledeath and disease in this country. More people die from cigarette smoking andrelated illnesses each year than die from alcohol, traffic accidents, cocaineand heroin, AIDS, murder, and suicide combined. Second hand tobacco smoke alonecauses up to fifty-three thousand (53,000) deaths per year in non-smokers. Asreported by the center for disease control, second hand smoke is the thirdleading cause of death in the United States today. Ninety percent (90%) of thepeople who smoke start by age nineteen (19), the average age being thirteen(13). Children exposed to tobacco smoke are at nearly twice the risk of beingin poor or fair health as compared to children who are never exposed to tobaccosmoke. Children exposed to tobacco smoke have an increased frequency ofrespiratory infections and decreased lung function. In Rhode Island, where thelegal age to purchase tobacco products is eighteen (18), in 1988 the departmentof health reported the following smoking rates for Rhode Island students:
SEE THE BOOK FOR THE PROPER TABLE.
(b) The tobacco industry sells one billion packs ofcigarettes to underage children every year. Nationwide, three thousand (3,000)underage children take up smoking every day with more than half addicted by agefourteen (14). Schools and the state of Rhode Island have a moralresponsibility to protect the health and welfare of children from the healthhazards of tobacco.