I am not a lawyer and good for me for that. I have had some college law.
Under most circumstances underage smoking is not against the law. It is against the law to sell tobacco to under age people. Under a lot of circumstances it is against the law to provide tobacco to underage persons, so don't get caught providing tobacco to your underage friends. That could be used as a pretext to prosecute you.
From your name I gather that you are male and therefore not pregnant or th...

I am not a lawyer and good for me for that. I have had some college law.
Under most circumstances underage smoking is not against the law. It is against the law to sell tobacco to under age people. Under a lot of circumstances it is against the law to provide tobacco to underage persons, so don't get caught providing tobacco to your underage friends. That could be used as a pretext to prosecute you.
From your name I gather that you are male and therefore not pregnant or that could be a problem.

The reason for the law is that you are regarded as not competent to make such decisions for yourself yet. That is not always the case, but in your case, well...
Note that in later life you will find yourself discriminated against for a habit that is hard to break. Do you want to afford that?

Another bit of advice. Some policemen love to hassle young people and especially those who smoke, They think that they have a high probability of being delinquents. So learn the tricks of palming a cigarette. I can even hide a lit cigarette in my mouth while drinking a glass of water.

The odds are they will just give you a lecture and send you on your way. I have friends in the Denver Police Department. There are way too many kids under 18 that smoke. If the arrested them all, the taxpayers would be paying out there ears. In my personal opinion, if you stay out of trouble you'll be alright. Be careful though that the police might use that as probable cause to search you.

Don't get caught smoking on campus. I know of one who got expelled from school. Read your student handbook for penalties for smoking on campus.

Since it's illegal for minors to buy cigarettes in Denver, and police did question you, you would have to reveal where you bought them, and that store would be in major trouble! If you refused to tell, you could be in serious trouble! Tobacco is an illegal substance for minors!

Actually, the legality varies from state to state and city to city. I live close to the Maryland-Pennsylvania line. In Pa, there is no law saying minors cannot smoke (just cannot purchase). In Md, it's another story; a friend of mine has a little sister who was given a hefty fine for smoking in public. I know this isn't much help, because I'm not anywhere near Colorado, but honestly, I really doubt you have much to worry about. There are much bigger problems for law agencies to worry about than a 16-year-old smoking....

Actually, the legality varies from state to state and city to city. I live close to the Maryland-Pennsylvania line. In Pa, there is no law saying minors cannot smoke (just cannot purchase). In Md, it's another story; a friend of mine has a little sister who was given a hefty fine for smoking in public. I know this isn't much help, because I'm not anywhere near Colorado, but honestly, I really doubt you have much to worry about. There are much bigger problems for law agencies to worry about than a 16-year-old smoking.

It is not illegal in Colorado for a minor to smoke cigarettes, only to buy them (it is also illegal for an adult to buy them for a minor). However, if you smoke at school then your school might punish you.

Understanding that you are now 16, and grandpa died of cancer last week (I'm sorry), I would certainly make it a point to quit.

While what happens to you during school hours (a slap on the wrist, suspension, or other ramifications) really does not matter.

You need to understand, for yourself, that smoking is not a good thing.
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Understanding that you are now 16, and grandpa died of cancer last week (I'm sorry), I would certainly make it a point to quit.

While what happens to you during school hours (a slap on the wrist, suspension, or other ramifications) really does not matter.

You need to understand, for yourself, that smoking is not a good thing.

I am 41 and I smoke. I have smoked since I was about 15. While many years ago, the smoking laws were non-existent... I truly wish that they were.

Smoking is an addiction, just like any other drug. You want, want, want. You get caught up into the "I gotta have a smoke", and it's not a good thing.

A pack of smokes, here in NJ. is $6.22. Wow.... add that up and I have spent $50. bucks a week, $200. a month. Just enough to pay for my electric bill.

While I am sitting here telling you that smoking is not a good thing, you are probably saying - "why don't you practice what you preach????"... as currently, I am a smoker.

I wish that I could. I have gone well beyond that, and wish that I could have found someone who would have led me to the right direction. I never quit.

Don't allow yourself to succumb to such issues. You have a long life ahead of you and you need to focus on that.

Best of luck to you... and thank you for asking the question. That is half of the battle.

the longer you smoke the harder it will be to give them up you may think it will be easy but i promise you it will not the longer you smoke
give it up now while you can (IF YOU CAN).
You will not only be more healthy but you will be A LOT RICHER.

Salesmen of Death—Are You a Customer?

“The guy that smokes has been told all the warnings on earth that it is going to kill you, and I think the same thing. I think it is going to kill you. I think any fool that takes smoke down in his belly is going to suffer. I have never smoked a cigarette in my life. I have made a fortune on it. . . . The only way that we built this country is by selling the rest of t...

Salesmen of Death—Are You a Customer?

“The guy that smokes has been told all the warnings on earth that it is going to kill you, and I think the same thing. I think it is going to kill you. I think any fool that takes smoke down in his belly is going to suffer. I have never smoked a cigarette in my life. I have made a fortune on it. . . . The only way that we built this country is by selling the rest of the fools in the world tobacco.”—James Sharp, longtime tobacco grower in Kentucky, in Merchants of Death—The American Tobacco Industry, by Larry C. White.Hello my dear child. Let me share you this article

Love of God and Neighbor

The fundamental motivating force for a Christian has to be that which Jesus expressed: “‘You must love your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole strength and with your whole mind,’ and, ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”

How can one render love to God with one’s whole heart, soul, mind, and strength if one is deliberately corroding one’s faculties by indulging in a habit, a vice, that leads to premature disease and death? How does one show appreciation for God’s gift of life when inhaling an addictive drug like nicotine? God gave “to all persons life and breath.” Should we pollute that God-given breath? From God’s viewpoint it truly is a vice, “an evil, degrading, or immoral practice or habit.”—The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.

How does smoking show love for neighbor, when a smoker’s foul breath and smoke pollute clothing and the surrounding air? What about a smoker’s closest neighbors, his spouse and children? Is it love to pursue a course that might lead to an early, slow, and painful death that they must observe? Does it show Christian consideration for other people to oblige them to be passive smokers, inhaling a smoker’s poisonous exhalations? Little wonder that the botanical garden in Blanes, Spain, has the tobacco plant in its poisonous plants section!

What about love of self? It is legitimate to love oneself to the point of caring for one’s bodily, mental, and spiritual health. The apostle Paul stated that “no man ever hated his own flesh; but he feeds and cherishes it.” Does it show love of self to indulge in a habit that slowly subverts one’s health?

God has promised that there will be ‘new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness is to dwell.’ That will be a clean new world, without pollution of any kind. Smoking will not be permitted or even desired then, so why smoke now?

Having been there, let me tell you that you've made a bad choice. I smoked lightly from age 16 on through age 29 when I decided to quit. It took a year with several failures, but I kept trying. Eventually I moved to pipe because you don't inhale that smoke, at least intentionally. It worked because the damn thing made me sick all the time. After a few weeks of throwing up inopportunely I finally was able to quit completely, but what a pain-in-the-ass. I have been smoke free ever since and recommend it....

Having been there, let me tell you that you've made a bad choice. I smoked lightly from age 16 on through age 29 when I decided to quit. It took a year with several failures, but I kept trying. Eventually I moved to pipe because you don't inhale that smoke, at least intentionally. It worked because the damn thing made me sick all the time. After a few weeks of throwing up inopportunely I finally was able to quit completely, but what a pain-in-the-ass. I have been smoke free ever since and recommend it.