No...not at all. I'm saying that people shouldn't be giving samples of addictive drugs out in the middle of malls...whether it's to someone who is 16 or someone who is 80.
This isn't a valid argument in the least bit. Bars are places that people go to get alcohol (or hang out, whatever...they accept the fact that the bar is a vendor for alcohol). Malls are not places that people go to feed their nicotine addiction.
It wouldn't be right if an alcohol company opened a kiosk in a mall and gave samples of vodka to everybody that walked by.
Aside from all of that, you have to be 21 (in PA at least) to get into a bar. Do you have to be 18 to get into a mall?
TLDR of this section - they're unrelated.
You seem to be missing the point. The guy that is breaking the law is SE in this situation. You think this was the only guy in the whole company that gave out false information about the product? You think he was the only one who let some kid try it as they were walking by? You think he was the only one who will take their $200 any way they can, whether the customer is 17 or 18?
I stand by my opinion. Nicotine is an addictive drug, and I don't think that someone walking through the mall with their family should be exposed to a salesman accosting them with samples or w/e of it.
Refer to my previous "chewing
tobacco" example for my whole opinion.
At this point, we need all the good press we can get. Sure, cigarettes are sold to minors all the time and it isn't a big deal, but cigarettes aren't under fire and close to getting banned. Every recorded incident like this lands us one step closer to a ban. Until the fire under our feet is out, we don't need clowns like SE xxxxing anything up for us.