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Section One

NEWS

Article 1

Smokers under 18 in iowa now outlaws

Previewing the Article

Should teenagers be allowed to smoke? In the Midwestern United States, the state of Iowa is trying a new solution to the problem of smoking by minors (those under 18). Because there is much disagreement about a new Iowa law on smoking, the article contains many opposing views gathered from interviews with health officials, police officers and teenagers themselves.

Before You Read

Before you read the article, discuss these questions.

  1. If you smoke, when did you start? Would you discourage your friends, younger brothers, sisters, or your children from smoking? Why?

  2. Why do you think people smoke?

  3. What are the dangers of smoking? Why do you think people continue smoking despite reports on its dangers?

As You Read

As you read, look for answers to these questions.

  1. What does the state of Iowa hope to accomplish with the new law?

  2. What are some problems with making people obey the law?

Smokers under 18 in iowa now outlaws

by Don Terry

New York Times Service

Des Moines - Young smokers beware: On Monday it became illegal in Iowa for anyone under 18 to smoke a cigarette.

If caught smoking, chewing or even possessing tobacco by the police, an underaged offender could be fined as much as $100, yanked off the street or out of the shopping mall and taken home in the back seat of the squad car.

The law is part of the state’s campaign to reduce tobacco use greatly among all Iowans. The police are charged with enforcing the law, but some are sceptical. On their crowded list of priorities, the measure shares a spot with the neighbour’s cat stuck in a tree.

“We’re too busy to enforce a law like that”, Sergeant Gail Dunn of the Des Moines Police Department, said with a sigh.

5 Michael J. Coverdale of the Iowa Department of Public Health has heard the grumbling, and his terse response is, “The law is the law”.

But for the first year or so, Mr. Coverdale said, he thinks the police will simply inform underaged smokers about the law and confiscate their cigarettes.

“I doubt the police would actually arrest a juvenile for smoking”, he said. “But they certainly have the option to”.

Forty-four states have laws - rarely enforced - that bar selling cigarettes to minors or bar minors from possessing tobacco, said Tim Hensley of the Centers for Disease Control’s Office on Smoking and Health, in Atlanta.

“But I’m not aware of any other state that actually says they are prohibited from smoking”, he said.

10 The grown-ups in Des Moines say the new law is for the “kids’ own good”, because, after all, Mr. Coverdale said, “cigarettes are often a gateway to other drugs that are illegal”.

The kids are not so sure.

“It’s stupid”, declared Wendi Spuehler, 17, who smokes half-pack of cigarettes a day. “I’m supposed to be an American. I’m supposed to be able to do whatever I want. If I choose to ruin my lungs, it’s my choice and not the cops’.”

Some police officers in Iowa are not too keen about the law, either.

In Davenport, Lieutenant Michael C. Hammes said he doubted that the measure would “scare very many kids” away from cigarettes.

15 “I started smoking when I was 13”, he said. “My parents didn’t scare me from smoking. And I feared my father more than I feared the police, and he couldn’t stop me”.

The tobacco industry, which has been under attack in the courts over liability in smokers’ deaths, has no argument with the law. Even the Tobacco Institute, an industry lobby group in Washington, supports it.

I. Getting the Message

After reading the article, choose the best answer for each item.

1. This article is mainly about

a. smoking

b. new smoking law in Iowa

c. teenagers

2.With the new law, the state of Iowa hopes to

a. arrest many teenagers

b. collect fines

c. reduce tobacco use

3. Unlike laws in other states in the United States, the Iowa law

a. bars the selling of cigarettes for minors

b. bars police from arresting minors for smoking

c. prohibits minors from smoking

4. Some officials worry that the new law

a. cannot be enforced

b. will cause many teenagers to become violent

c. will result in many teenagers going to jail

5. Similar laws against smoking in other states

a. are very effective

b. are rarely enforced

c. reduce the death rate from smoking

II. Expanding Your Vocabulary

Getting Meaning from Context

Use context clues to determine the meaning of each word, found in the paragraph indicated in parentheses. Choose the correct definition.

1. beware (1):

  1. be on guard against

  2. be good

2. sceptical (3):

  1. believing

  2. doubtful

3. charged (3):

  1. attacked

  2. responsible for

4. measure (3):

  1. ruler

  2. law

5. confiscate (6):

  1. take away

  2. use

6. possessing (8):

  1. owing

  2. knowing

7. prohibited (9):

  1. forbidden

  2. allowed

8. liability (16):

  1. legal responsibility

  2. choice

9. lobby (16):

  1. a group of people engaged in influencing lawmakers

  2. a large public area inside a building

III. Working with Idioms

Study the meaning of these idioms and expressions

caught smoking (2) = found inhaling a cigarette

share a spot with (3) = be considered the same

have the option to (7) = to be able to choose to

not too keen about (13) = not very enthusiastic about

Answer these questions:

  1. In paragraph 2, who can be caught smoking and who will do the catching?

  2. In paragraph 3, why does the new law share a spot with the police handling a neighbour’s cat being stuck in a tree?

  3. In paragraph 7, will most police who have the option to arrest teens do so?

  4. In paragraph 13, why are the police not too keen about the law?

IV. Analyzing Paragraphs

Because there is much disagreement about the effects of the new smoking law, the article quotes many different opinions on the subject. Each opinion is presented in a direct quotation. Go back through the paragraphs containing direct quotations. Complete the chart, telling whether the person being quoted is for or against the new law and why. Choose three quotations.

Para-

graphs

Speaker’s Name/ Job

For or Against

Reason(s)

4

Gail Dunn, police officer

against

“too busy to enforce”

Now ask a few classmates about their opinion of the law. Sum up the students’ opinions.

V. Talking and Writing

Discuss the following topics. Then choose one of them to write about.

  1. Crimes can be divided into two categories: 1) those involving victims such as robbery or kidnapping; 2) victimless crimes such as the illegal use of some substances. Are there laws in your society against both types of crime? Should protecting people from harming themselves be the role of government?

  2. What is your opinion of a new Iowa law? Should minors be prohibited by law from smoking?

Article 2

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