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12-year-olds can't buy cigarettes – but they can work in tobacco fields

npr.org

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Re: 12-year-olds can't buy cigarettes – but they can work in tobacco fields

#11

Post by [deleted] »

jl6 wrote: post #8

> Ten-hour days, five or six days a week, in North Carolina's summer heat. This is the problem, not the age of the child or the crop. Spending an occasional weekend working a few hours in a field sounds perfectly fine and character-building for a 12-year-old. More 12 year olds should be getting outside and tasting manual labor! The issue is when this starts being less of a learning experience and more of an actual fu…

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Re: 12-year-olds can't buy cigarettes – but they can work in tobacco fields

#15

Post by dbspin »

jl6 wrote: post #8

> Ten-hour days, five or six days a week, in North Carolina's summer heat. This is the problem, not the age of the child or the crop. Spending an occasional weekend working a few hours in a field sounds perfectly fine and character-building for a 12-year-old. More 12 year olds should be getting outside and tasting manual labor! The issue is when this starts being less of a learning experience and more of an actual fu…

12 year olds are generally prepubescent children. This isn't like a sixteen year old working to save for a car, or even a fourteen year old gaining a little independence and exercise working a few hours after school. This is child labour. It's indefensible.

Re: 12-year-olds can't buy cigarettes – but they can work in tobacco fields

#16

Post by jleyank »

Not a new problem. People argued in the early 70’s that you should be able to have a drink if you could vote, own the bar and have your ass shot off in the jungle. Didn’t work.

You can rest assured that Jason and Jennifer won’t be dirtying their hands out there. Just those other people.

Re: 12-year-olds can't buy cigarettes – but they can work in tobacco fields

#17

Post by jansan »

AndyMcConachie wrote: post #2

18-year olds can't buy alcohol, but they can die fighting for oil companies.

In most parts of the world you can buy alcohol when you are 18, in many parts you can buy soft alcohol (beer, wine) at 16, but you cannot drive a car at 16. Both are fine IMO, as long as you cannot drive a car AND buy alcohol at 16.
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