10/30/2013
By Ivan Pereira
College-aged smokers looking to legally light up will have to stock up fast.
The City Council passed a bill Wednesday that raises the age to buy cigarettes from 18 to 21 by a 35 to 10vote.
The city’s health department, along with thethe mayor, have been working to curb teen smoking for years and said raising the minimum age could reduce smoking between 18 and 20-year-olds by 55%.
“More than 80% of adult smokers in NYC start smoking before age 21, so raising the sales age to 21 will protect teens and may prevent many people from ever starting to smoke,” Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said in a statement.
Mayor Michael Bloom-berg said he will sign the bill, which also affects electronic cigarettes, and it will go into effect in the spring.
Audrey Silk, the founder of smoker’s rights group NYC Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment, called the bill an infringement on choice.
“It’s often been argued that if someone can fight for their country, get married, sign contracts or vote at the age of 18 then they are old enough to be allowed to do all of the things that comes with the traditional age-defined adulthood of 18 — including choosing whether or not to smoke.” she said in a statement.
Her fight against the city’s tobacco crackdown, however, did have a major victory last week. The mayor’s office withdrew a bill that would have banned the display of tobacco products in stores.
