Although it was a close call, "Tobacco 19" went up in smoke again today. Onondaga County legislators fell two votes short of the 13 needed to override the bill that County Executive Joanie Mahoney vetoed last month.
The bill would have changed the tobacco purchase age in Onondaga County from 18 to 19. The idea is that raising the age would keep high schoolers from buying cigarettes and giving them to minors.
West Genesee senior Alissa Orlando, 17, says the bill would be effective based on her observations of peers. "I saw upperclassmen in my health class selling cigarettes to minors," she said to county legislators. "If that's not irony, I don't know what is." 
Robert Warner, R-Baldwinsville, defended the bill from an economic standpoint. He said reducing teen smoking would lower the number of lung cancer patients. Warner estimated that medical costs for a cancer patient could reach a million dollars. "We can save taxpayers millions of dollars by this bill which costs nothing," he said.
Some believe "Tobacco 19" violates freedoms that come with being an adult. "At what age do we hold people responsible for their actions?" William Kinne, D-Syracuse, asked, despite voting for the override.
Others opposed "Tobacco 19" because it would excuse 18-year-olds in the military. They say that military participation does not determine an 18-year-old's decision making ability. "Military inclusion is the stupidest thing I've heard in five years, " James Rhinehart, R-Skaneateles, said.Warner says he will try again next year to get "Tobacco 19" passed.
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