NYC to be first U.S. city to raise the smoking age from 18 to 21.

Mayor Bloomberg has promised to sign a new bill raising the legal age allowed to buy tobacco from 18 to 21:

Opening a new front in the city’s war on smoking, the New York City Council voted Wednesday to hike the legal age for buying cigarettes to 21.

Mayor Bloomberg promised to sign the bill, making it certain that New York will become the first major city in America to adopt such a high age requirement.

The whole reasoning is that teen smoking has been reduced in other places that have a required age of 21 to purchase tobacco products:

Research shows that more than 80% of smokers in New York began lighting up before the age 21.

“We've seen jurisdictions like Nassau County, Suffolk County, the whole state of Jersey (raise the smoking age) to 19 and they made some headway but we looked at other places that have gone to 21 in other parts in the world and we saw that there was a big difference to be made by doing that," Gennaro said.

www.nydailynews.com...


I understand having to be 21 to consume alcohol as it impairs you. Everything else is considered adulthood at 18. And since smoking doesn't impair you, you should damn-well be able to blacken your lungs at 18 if you so choose.

Raising the age to 21 won't stop kids from trying cigarettes, just as it doesn't stop kids from trying alcohol.

I don't know I think their logic is to stop the 18 year old kids who are still in the high school system from distributing cigarettes to those younger than them.

Let's be honest we all know that's how the even younger kids 12-16 get their cigarettes, I think this would head off at least one aspect of the problems we face with tobacco.

That being said is that a good enough reason to piss off thousands of teenagers during this time? Probably not.

Folks from NYC do smoke a LOT.

The new z pens or whatever the hell the electronic cigs are called that they buy in Manhattan just make working around them much more annoying. The "smell" goes away but the 2nd hand effects don't.

I don't mind seeing this come into effect, smoking tobacco is mostly a social habit for lack of agreeable conversations among workers.

will make no difference what so ever,for one when i was younger i used to just steal a cigarette out my dads packet and he never noticed and if packet was empty enough that he mite then just got someone outside shop to get me them cause unlike drink people still don,t see it as a major problem.

reply to post by _BoneZ_

I understand having to be 21 to consume alcohol as it impairs you. Everything else is considered adulthood at 18.

Anyone born outside of the US does not understand your stupid 21 law. Kids are adults, 18, can get married, go to war, etc… But they can't drink? And, it's not like they follow the law, they all end up drinking anyway. In some places they don't have ages, or they are arbitrarily low (no babies), but they don't have a teenage binge drinking problem, the US on the other hand…

" 'Merrrca, It's like watching someone put a fire out with gasoline."

reply to post by sparky31


Exactly. I started smoking when I was 11. We stole our parents cigarettes and went somewhere to try them out. All through my teen years, we always stole our parents cigarettes. Or got them from other under-age teens. Never did I ever get cigarettes from some older teen who could buy them.

reply to post by boncho


I agree 100%. Kids still drink anyway, and they will still smoke anyway, no matter what the age requirement is set to.

reply to post by _BoneZ_


The problem with this is that it needs to be raised to 25 for males, this is fooling people into thinking our governments are doing good when it is absolutely useless,

25 is the age the front part of the male brain develops and is the last part of the brain to do so (female brains are fully developed at the age of 18)
alcohol, tobacco and fluoride all stunt the development of the brain and is the main reason we have crime as the frontal lobe is the part of the brain where our reasoning is located. www.princetonbrainandspine.com...

the word Tobacco is derived from Bacchus or dionysus (to bacchus) a greek god and it is meant as a sacrifce to him so when you are lighting up remember this is the elites way of sacrificing you to their god,

This is a waste of time. Seriously. 18 is a legal adult in the U.S - Which means you can vote, enter night clubs, consent, and appear in adult films. If you're able to do all that and can't buy cigarettes then that's funny. Might as well raise the military age to 21 as well. If you're able to go fight in war and kill others then you should be allowed to do something as trivial as buy cigarettes if you so choose. . .

~Sovereign

reply to post by _BoneZ_


Ah the smell of Progressive Restrictions.


I don't even have to make up stuff. They supply it for you.

Were Liberal, We know what's best for you and will force you to do it.

BlubberyConspiracy
Folks from NYC do smoke a LOT.

The new z pens or whatever the hell the electronic cigs are called that they buy in Manhattan just make working around them much more annoying. The "smell" goes away but the 2nd hand effects don't.

I don't mind seeing this come into effect, smoking tobacco is mostly a social habit for lack of agreeable conversations among workers.

What?? Either you're mis-informed or I read that wrong. The "e-cigs" produce vapor which is just steam. There are no second hand effects to people sitting around someone using one.

I quit smoking this past February 24th after 27 years. I think it's a good idea, but only if it is voted on by the peeps, not decreed by a POS politician.

jinni73
reply to post by _BoneZ_

 

The problem with this is that it needs to be raised to 25 for males, this is fooling people into thinking our governments are doing good when it is absolutely useless,

25 is the age the front part of the male brain develops and is the last part of the brain to do so (female brains are fully developed at the age of 18)
alcohol, tobacco and fluoride all stunt the development of the brain and is the main reason we have crime as the frontal lobe is the part of the brain where our reasoning is located. www.princetonbrainandspine.com...

the word Tobacco is derived from Bacchus or dionysus (to bacchus) a greek god and it is meant as a sacrifce to him so when you are lighting up remember this is the elites way of sacrificing you to their god,

So then, "devil's food cake" should be banned... the name does imply evil...

reply to post by pavil


That is not liberal, rather a conservative decision.

Liberal countries have quite soft alcohol/tobacco laws, most have legal age 18 for both, in some countries 16 is the age.

BlubberyConspiracy
Folks from NYC do smoke a LOT.

The new z pens or whatever the hell the electronic cigs are called that they buy in Manhattan just make working around them much more annoying. The "smell" goes away but the 2nd hand effects don't.

You mean the second hand effects that lack the 7000 odd chemicals cigarettes create? What propaganda posters have you been reading? Anyone who claims ecig second hand smoke is hurting them is being completely neurotic.

Cabin
reply to post by pavil

 

That is not liberal, rather a conservative decision.

Liberal countries have quite soft alcohol/tobacco laws, most have legal age 18 for both, in some countries 16 is the age.

Take a look at NYC Council and Mayor. Are you trying to tell me they are Conservatives????

Hmmmm 47 Democrats and 4 Republicans, you are right. Totally Conservative dominated. I stand Corrected.

NYC City Council Members

I agree with what a few others are saying here. Once you are an adult, you are an adult. There is absolutely no reason to raise the age requirement. The moment you reach that age to legally be seen as a self sustained individual, you have all the right in the world. I certainly think that the government, should definitely be more lenient with age requirements. I'm glad it's restricted to that one particular city.

There's a Will Ferrel parody Twitter account that says 21 is the age when you are legally allowed to do everything you've been doing since you were 15. I've personally been pestered by 12 year olds demanding everything from cigarettes to dope to alcohol. It's appalling.

reply to post by _BoneZ_


This is just retarded.

I used to buy cigarettes at 14. We went to where ever we had to to buy them. That will NEVER stop.

Fascist leftist idealism is costing us BILLIONS as a country every year. It needs to end.

Let me guess a new expensive ass public awareness campaign will accompany this effort to tell us what to do with our own lives and bodies.....

No bid advertising campaign contracts to feed the trolls of leftist extremism....crony capitalism at its finest, thanks to legislation being written by their best buds....how convenient...

Meanwhile everyone suffering under the system they made cant even drink a beer in a park or smoke a cigarette to lessen the stress of their daily lives under the weight of the needs of the upper class of idiots....but hey they are looking out for your pulmonary health so I guess they are OK.....

Fascists

The only smoking I've done is second hand, and I've done that enough. I'm glad they're doing this, but I don't really see it changing anything in the short term. More kids and young adults in this city smoke weed over cigarettes anyways, at least that's my observation. I know stores that sell alcohol, cigarettes, cigars, flavored rolling papers to minors all the time. That's how they make their business, and that won't stop unless they crackdown on it. Possibly in 10 years along with higher sin taxes, and a crackdown on stores illegally selling them to minors, they could sway the minors away from it because it's a bigger hassle to get.