Raising New York City Smoking Age From 18 To 21

Tobacco use and exposure to second-hand smoke is among the top causes of preventable death in the United States.  Killing more than 440,000 Americans annually, smoking tobacco causes more deaths per year than HIV, Illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle accidents, suicides and murders combined, according to the Center for Disease Control. Smoking can be especially dangerous for adolescent users, because pleasure receptors in the adolescent brain are easier to stimulate and mold at a young age. Developing brains are highly susceptible to addictive nature of nicotine, which will lead to future health problems such as heart disease and lung cancer.

The past ten years have seen many policies and social norm changes around smoking and tobacco sales. A striking twenty-six states have passed laws making them 100% smoke free in workplaces, restaurants and bars as of December 31 2010.  Many of the remaining twenty-four states have issued smoking restrictions for at least one of the listed venues. New York City is making major commotion in the news recently; a bill has been passed by the City Council to raise the legal age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21 years of age and increase the minimum retail price of a pack of cigarettes to $10.50.

 If Mayor Michael Bloomberg signs this new bill, the policy could take effect within 180 days, which would drastically change the tobacco norms in New York City. 

Public health workers rejoice as libertarians lament over this New York bill. New York City, however, does not lead the pack when it comes to enforcing strict tobacco laws; some cities in Massachusetts have already raised their legal age to purchase tobacco. Trailblazing efforts such as these have inspired other states such as Hawaii and New Jersey plans to follow suit by tightening tobacco laws within their jurisdictions.


Group 15: The Plague: Jillian Mowdy, Ashley Breen, Madeline Stowell, Christopher Hamper, Ismael Naranjo, and Dakota Trumbull