A new bill has recently been signed that’ll change the age of smoking, vaping, and overall tobacco usage throughout New York from 18 to 21.
The legislation, which was signed on Tuesday (July 16) by Governor Andrew Cuomo, will take effect in 120 days (November 13). Governor Cuomo states that by increasing the smoking age “we can stop cigarettes and e-cigarettes from getting into the hands of young people in the first place and prevent an entire generation of New Yorkers from forming costly and potentially deadly addictions.”
This law change is another step toward the Governor’s efforts to combat health threats from tobacco products. In the release, Cuomo goes on to say that this is an “aggressive action” by New York “to stamp out smoking among teens and children” since the use of tobacco and e-cigarette products “still persists thanks to irresponsible corporate marketing campaigns targeting young people;” despite the state’s attempts to change this over the years.
With this new law, New York becomes the 17th state to raise the smoking age.
featured image source: Photo by Paweł Czerwiński on Unsplash