NATCHEZ — The Adams County Board of Supervisors will have a public hearing Monday to gauge public support for a proposal to raise the legal tobacco smoking age in the county to 21.

The proposal, introduced by board President Mike Lazarus, will be discussed at the board’s regular meeting at the supervisors’ office on State Street. The public hearing will start at 10 a.m.

“I can’t think of a good reason not to do it,” Lazarus said. “I want to hear the other side, why somebody thinks we shouldn’t do it. It may hurt some retailers, and I want to know what they think it will affect.”

Lazarus said statistics show that keeping teenagers from starting smoking greatly reduces their chances of ever starting, and he compared the measure to laws requiring people to wear seat belts.

“Saving some kid’s life from a horrible death of lung or heart disease, it is all worth it to me,” he said. “This is one decision I make, this is easy for me.”

Vice President Calvin Butler said he wants to hear what store owners think about the proposal, but he ultimately supports it.

“I smoked for almost 18 years or better, and fortunately I didn’t have any cancer or anything, but I think you need to deter high school kids from starting,” he said. “If you don’t get hooked on (tobacco products), then you don’t have to worry about some of those diseases nearly as much.”

In a letter to the board supporting the measure, the Homochitto Valley Medical Society — a larger group made up of local physicians — said data shows that 95 percent of adult smokers begin before the age of 21, and 34 percent of those become regular daily smokers between 18 and 21.

The letter goes on to advocate not only for raising the legal smoking age, but to advocate for a smoke-free ordinance for Natchez and Adams County.

“With a smoke-free ordinance and raising the minimum legal age to purchase tobacco products, Adams County could become a safer and healthier place,” the letter reads. “As medical professionals, we too often deal with the long-term health repercussions of tobacco use, but health care can begin addressing these issues long before then. Health care is not only the services that we provide as physicians; it is created in our community through our policies, systems, environments and culture.

“Health care is therefore what all of us, as members of this community, do collectively and in our respective roles to care for health and ensure conditions in which all people have the opportunity to be healthier.”

The letter is signed by Dr. Leslie England, a Natchez internist, on behalf of the society.

The State of Hawaii raised the legal smoking age to 21 in June. A total of 135 localities in California, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York and Ohio have enacted similar measures.