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In New York City that will likely soon be the case, as the city council voted to raise the minimum age. As I mentioned in another thread, I can't stand the tiny little despot mayor, but this particular vendetta of his, I'm behind.
He banned smoking indoors and a lot of places outdoors and this seems like a good step. It's odd to allow people to buy cigarettes but not booze. Story here -
He banned smoking indoors and a lot of places outdoors and this seems like a good step. It's odd to allow people to buy cigarettes but not booze. Story here -
Smokers younger than 21 in the nation's biggest city will soon be barred from buying cigarettes after the New York City Council voted overwhelming Wednesday to raise the tobacco-purchasing age to higher than all but a few other places in the United States.
City lawmakers approved the bill - which raises from 18 to 21 the purchasing age for cigarettes, certain tobacco products and even electronic-vapor smokes - and another that sets a minimum $10.50-a-pack price for tobacco cigarettes and steps up law enforcement on illegal tobacco sales...
With Wednesday's vote, New York is by far the biggest city to bar cigarette sales to 19- and 20-year-olds. Similar legislation is expected to come to a vote in Hawaii this December. The tobacco-buying age is 21 in Needham, Mass., and is poised to rise to 21 in January in nearby Canton, Mass. The state of New Jersey is also considering a similar proposal.
Lawmakers who pushed for the change site city statistics that show youth smoking rates have plateaued at 8.5 percent since 2007.
"We have to do more and that's what we're doing today," said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. "We have a real chance of leading the country and the world."
The city's current age limit is 18, a federal minimum that's standard in many places. Smoking in city parks and beaches is already prohibited as it is in restaurants.
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