Senate Democrats in California are moving forward with their plans to raise the minimum smoking age to 21, after they approved a state bill Tuesday.
The California Senate voted 26-8 in favor of the bill to raise the legal smoking age from 18 to 21.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Ed Hernandez, a Democrat, said, "It’s time to stop allowing tobacco companies to make the deadly product so readily available to our youth."
Opponents of the bill pointed out that Americans are "eligible to vote, serve in the military and enter into contracts at the age of 18, and therefore should be able to make their own decisions concerning smoking."
The move is in line with U.S. Senate Democrats, who have not been shy in their war against cigarettes and things that look like cigarettes, accusing actors and actresses of "killing" their fans by using electronic cigarettes at last year’s Golden Globes.