NYC Council Votes to Make Tobacco-Buying Age 21

(AP) NYC council votes to make tobacco-buying age 21
By JENNIFER PELTZ and JAKE PEARSON
Associated Press
NEW YORK
Smokers under 21 will soon be barred from buying cigarettes in New York City.

The City Council voted Wednesday to raise the minimum age for purchasing cigarettes and electronic-vapor cigarettes from 18 to 21.

By passing the bill, New York became the most populous place in the U.S. to raise the tobacco-buying age that high.

The city’s current age limit of 18 is a federal minimum. It’s standard in many places.

Some states and communities have raised the age to 19. At least two towns have agreed to raise it to 21.

Advocates say higher age limits help prevent young people from taking up a hazardous habit.

Manufacturers have suggested young adult smokers may just turn to black-market merchants.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration supports the council’s plan.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

Smokers younger than 21 may soon be barred from buying cigarettes in the nation’s biggest city, where many local officials and public health advocates favor raising the tobacco-purchasing age to higher than all but a few other places in the United States.

New York City has become known for aggressive moves to curb smoking, and its city council was expected to set a 21-year-old age limit Wednesday for buying cigarettes, even electronic-vapor smokes. The council also was expected to set a minimum price for tobacco cigarettes, among other measures.

If the age increase passes, New York would be by far the biggest city to bar cigarette sales to 19- and 20-year-olds.


Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to sign the measure. Officials previously shelved a plan Bloomberg unveiled with fanfare earlier this year: forcing stores to keep cigarettes out of public view until a customer asks for them.

The city’s current age limit is 18, a federal minimum that’s standard in many places. Some states and communities have raised the age to 19. At least two towns, in Massachusetts, have agreed to raise it to 21.

Advocates say higher age limits help prevent, or at least delay, young people from taking up a habit that remains the leading cause of preventable deaths nationwide. And supporters point to drinking-age laws as a precedent for setting the bar at 21.

Cigarette manufacturers have suggested young adult smokers may just turn to black-market merchants. And some smokers say it’s unfair and patronizing to tell people considered mature enough to vote and serve in the military that they’re not old enough to decide whether to smoke.


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 considering a similar proposal, and the idea has been floated in other places, including the Texas Legislature.

During Bloomberg’s nearly 12 years in office, New York City has helped impose among the highest cigarette taxes in the country, barred smoking in restaurants, bars, parks and beaches and launched sometimes graphic advertising campaigns about the effects of smoking.

The mayor proposed in March to require shops to keep tobacco products in cabinets, drawers, under the counter, behind a curtain or in other concealed spots until a customer asked for them. He said the displays “invite young people to experiment with tobacco.”

The idea was modeled on laws in Iceland, Canada, England and Ireland. But a similar measure had been rescinded in suburban Haverstraw, N.Y., after cigarette manufacturers sued. They said it violated their companies’ free speech rights to communicate with consumers about their products’ availability and prices.

Cigarette makers and sellers also campaigned against the New York City proposal, saying it overreached and would harm law-abiding businesses while helping illicit sellers.

The city Health Department said in a statement that the measure was taken off the table because “with the arrival of e-cigarettes, more time is needed to determine how best to address this problem.”

E-cigarette makers say their products are healthier than tobacco, and a trade association leader bristled at the city’s proposal to prevent people under 21 from buying them.