The new whiskey? New York City proposes to raise

No one under 21 will be able to buy cigarettes in New York City, under a new proposal that marks the latest in a decade of moves to crack down on smoking in the nation's largest city.

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn discussed details of a proposed law that would raise the minimum age for tobacco purchases from 18 to 21.


Quinn announced the proposed legislation today. She was joined by Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley, other council members and health advocates.



ID required: New York City council is proposing to raise the age at which tobacco can be sold from 18 to 21

'With this legislation, we'll be targeting the age group at which the overwhelming majority of smokers start,' Quinn said.

Officials say 80 percent of NYC smokers started before age 21, and an estimated 20,000 New York City public high school students now smoke.


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While it's already illegal for many of them to buy cigarettes, officials say this measure would play a key role by making it illegal for them to turn to slightly older friends to buy smokes for them.


The vast majority of people who get asked to do that favor are between 18 and 21 themselves, city officials say.

'We know that enforcement is never going to be perfect,' but this measure should make it 'much harder' for teens to get cigarettes, Farley said.

Texas recently attempted to pass legislation changing the age from 18 to 21 but it failed. Several states have a 19 age limit for the purchase of cigarettes.




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Public health advocates say a higher minimum age discourages, or at least delays, young people from starting smoking and thereby limits their health risks.

Opponents of such measures have said 18-year-olds, legally considered adults, should be able to make their own decisions about whether or not to smoke.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire who has given $600 million of his own money to anti-smoking efforts around the world, began taking on tobacco use in the city shortly after he became mayor in 2002.



Pricey habit: The city has highest tobacco taxes and most expensive cigarettes in the county with packs costing between $12 and $14 each





Stubbed out: Public health advocates say a higher minimum age discourages, or at least delays, young people from starting smoking and thereby limits their health risks

Over his years in office, the city – at times with the council's involvement – helped impose the highest cigarette taxes in the country, barred smoking at parks and on beaches and conducted sometimes graphic advertising campaigns about the hazards of smoking.

Last month, the Bloomberg administration unveiled a proposal to keep cigarettes out of sight in stores until an adult customer asks for a pack, as well as stopping shops from taking cigarette coupons and honoring discounts.



Healthier living: Mayor Bloomberg's administration say initiatives aim to help people live better, but many complain that they are nannyish and bad for business

New York City has had a ban on smoking in bars, restaurants and other indoor public spaces for 10 years.

The measures also have drawn complaints, at least initially, that they are nannyish and bad for business.

Several of New York City's smoking regulations have survived court challenges. But a federal appeals court said last year that the city couldn't force tobacco retailers to display gruesome images of diseased lungs and decaying teeth.

The habit costs smokers more in New York than in any other city in the nation thanks to the highest cigarette taxes in the country. A of cigarettes routinely costs between $12 and $14.

West Virginia has the cheapest cigarettes coming in at roughly $4.80 a pack.