Kool! NYC city council aims to raise smoking age from 18 to 21!

[graham4anything]

Last edited Tue Apr 23, 2013, 08:52 AM - Edit history (1)

City Council aims to raise smoking age in New York City from 18 to 21 — the oldest age in the country

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/city-bill-raise-smoking-age-21-nyc-article-1.1324030

After three terms of aggressive public-health measures championed by Mayor Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is spearheading the city’s latest crusade to bar under-21s from buying cigarettes.

...
“That will literally save lives,” Quinn said. “The more difficult it is for [young people] to gain access to tobacco products, the less likely they are to start smoking.”

The bill is a sign that Quinn, a leading mayoral contender, would carry on Mayor Bloomberg’s trademark public health ...“The mayor probably has the most effective public health agenda of any mayor in history in the United States,” she said. “This is another example of moving that aggressive public health agenda forward

[graham4anything]

1. I hope Christine Quinn sets double history and becomes Mayor this Nov. and

and I hope Weiner runs and flanks out everyone else, and goes onto a position in Hillary's admin. in 2017.
Just want to be out in the open here, no secrets, I am for Christine Quinn for mayor.

[hobbit709]

6. Not counting the Hillary word salad, you really have a strong authoritarian streak.

Funny how the people who want to pass restrictions never want these laws passed to stop themselves from doing something they don't believe in but are always ready to stop someone else from doing iit.
The morality police mentality is something I am always against.

[graham4anything]

10. Guess you would let George Bailey drown. Sorry Clarence no wings served here

Smoking fumes kill 2nd and 3rd hand.
It is universal.

And health care costs for smoking diseases costs tens/hundreds of thousands.

If not for lobby groups, smoking would have ceased years ago.

90% of NYers don't smoke now anyhow. Used to be 90%.

but the tourists come in and smoke.

[hobbit709]

12. George Bailey was a FICTIONAL character.

Do you have many of these fantasies?

[graham4anything]

65. So was Thomas Jefferson saying all men were created equal.

He forgot women and about 82% of the democratic party.

[hobbit709]

68. I ask again, what are you on? Jefferson was NOT a fictional character, no matter what he said.

George Bailey existed only on celluloid.

But your world seems to be inhabited by all sorts of fantasy creatures.

[graham4anything]

72. Jefferson's words were fiction

[stevenleser]

73. You have a really strong pro-corporate streak. Smoking only benefits big tobacco, has no redeeming

value and kills tons of people.

But by all means, continue your crusade to protect big tobacco's profits at the expense of millions of lives.

[hobbit709]

75. I care for the big corporations about as much as I care for Repukes.

how you got there I don't know. I was commenting on the OP's tendency to favor any kind of nanny state. The soda size, the Homeland Security issues, stop and frisk, and a host of other things that the poster has been in favor of. Usually because he wants to be safe hiding under his bed.

[stevenleser]

79. I got there because you are behaving as a willing patsy for big tobacco. Thats who you are helping

You are not helping people. You are helping Brown and Williamson, Phillip Morris, RJ Reynolds and the rest.

[hobbit709]

80. you are just as delusional as the OP

Me a corporate patsy.
I personally don't care for tobacco but if someone else wants to, it's their choice, not mine.

[premium]

81. That's what I got from reading your comments,

I don't know where he got the idea that you're supporting corporations?.

Like you, I don't smoke, but I'm all for freedom of choice.

[stevenleser]

82. Yes, even the high and mighty you are capable of behaving like a corporate patsy

and that is regardless of the quantity and variety of DU smilies employed in your response.

If you act to protect big corporate profits at the expense of people's lives, you are behaving like a corporate patsy.

[premium]

83. He's a corporate patsy because he supports freedom of choice?

That's all I'm getting from the comments.
What am I missing here?

[stevenleser]

87. His supposed "freedom of choice" is the freedom to enrich big tobacco by becoming addicted

to a big-tobacco-proffered substance that will kill and maim the vast majority of the people who purchase it and harm the health of those around them.

That's not a choice. That is offering up people to be killed by an irresponsible corporation and enrich that corporation at the same time.

[premium]

95. No, it's called freedom to chose whether you want to smoke,

or don't want to smoke.
You're reading far too much into his comments.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

104. I'm not sure "It's makes a corporate profit ergo it should be banned" is a basis for sound policy.

[hobbit709]

86. So which corporations are you a patsy of?

Who's your ISP? Do you grow your own food? What media do you watch?

[stevenleser]

88. None whose business is killing people by the millions. nt

[hobbit709]

89. Are you sure?

[stevenleser]

90. Yes I am sure. nt

[hobbit709]

92. Prove it.

Do you know all the interlocking directorships of the corporations you do support.

As to what you think of me my response is a Fleetwood Mac song.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

109. How'd did you

power that computer?

A) Domestic fracking

B) Foreign oil where misogynistic, ossified royalty rules

C) Foreign oil protected by the US MIC

D) Nuclear power

E) Coal

F) Offshore oil platform

Edit -- I'm not trying to be a snotty snoot; I'm just trying to illustrate that it's impossible to live a "clean" life this side of a monastery.

[OwnedByCats]

103. If you eat junk food

Or buy food with a lot of crap chemicals in it then you may just be soft killing yourself.

[customerserviceguy]

2. So they'll just buy their cigarettes in NJ

When they drive there to get gasoline.

[graham4anything]

4. guess some would tell George Bailey to drown instead of having Clarence save him.

being that Clarence was just the head Nannystate.

However, most kids in NYC don't have cars and don't drive, so they wouldn't go to Jersey to buy cancer sticks.
but those that do, it takes $12 bucks to drive from NJ to NY on the bridge/tunnel.

Plus gas.

Wellness rules.

Of course, one can also idolize Chris Christie. I would prefer Mike Bloomberg over Chris Chistie.

[customerserviceguy]

7. I was just pointing out

that while to some extent, NYC is a bit of an isolated island as you point out because of the bridge tolls, I still see plenty of NY'ers over in Jersey buying the much cheaper gas. And for those who don't drive, there's always the PATH train across the river, only a couple of bucks.

It will be difficult to enforce this, in a place where not terribly much is enforced as it is. I don't smoke, I don't like smoking, and I wish the kids would either quit or not take it up in the first place, but this law is not going to be effective in the slightest.

[hobbit709]

8. You do know that "It's A Wonderful Life" is fiction?

[graham4anything]

11. Nannies are a good thing. So are parents and grandparents.

[hobbit709]

13. Last I heard 18 was legal adult.

When I turned 18 I was told I'm on my own. I could do whatever I wanted as long as I was prepared to face the consequences of my actions. But the choices were mine, not anyone else's.

You seem to want a nanny state that runs everyone's life constantly.

[graham4anything]

15. Health care costs have made things different now

Those that have no insurance, the state/federal government pays
Everyone pays taxes

Why should I pay for rebels with straws and cancersticks?

[hobbit709]

17. That still doesn't give you the right to tell others how to live according to your attitudes.

Maybe if we spent a little less on defense and Homeland (In)Security and actually had HEALTHCARE instead of a sop to the insurance industry

And turn your last statement around. Why should rebels pay for your fears.

[graham4anything]

18. I have no power, therefore, I am just giving an opinion on a chat board. Does it bother you?

I don't really care for It's a wonderful life in reality.

I like White Christmas.
In it, Bing crosby says "Everybody has an angle".

Damn right they do.
I don't deny mine.

You see, the Clarence analogy is-
it seems the very sole reason people want a 48 ounce soda or cigarette, is to be a rebel against authority.
It seems silly to want to kill oneself over a faux cause.

Knowing when to walk away is being a winner.

You do realize that drinking large sodas gives the movie theatre more money.
Smoking gives some of the biggest corporations and lobby groups money to go on.
You do realize that don't you?

BTW-why would anyone smoke now? I used to smoke in the late 70s to 1984.
I quit from one second to another. Never wanted one after.
Led me to think that the addiction is phony and they just tell you that so one doesn't try.

[hobbit709]

21. nobody sings louder in church than a reformed sinner.

I quit smoking about the same time. I also since then quit other things but I don't tell others or want to have laws passed about the things I don't do.

[graham4anything]

22. One was still able to smoke in movie theatres after i quit

However, when the laws started changing, I was quite vocal about it in the theatre
(in fact some would say obnoxious).

Conversely in the 70s I smoked at the Palladium on 14th street, and people around me told me to put it out and I said no.

We evolve.

[hobbit709]

23. you remind me of a clown I dealt with in the grocery store once.

If you smoke in a No Smoking area, then you get harassed. If you smoke in a smoking area and someone harasses you, you might get something you didn't bargain for.

I learned a long time ago that if you go looking for trouble, you usually end up finding more trouble than you had intended on finding when you start.

[graham4anything]

26. I have never been in a fight nor do I have a gun or bullet.

As said, I never said anything til the laws changed.
Then I did.

(and if it looks like it could be a problem, I go to the person in charge and they deal with it.

If you see something suspicious, report it.
Why not?

[hobbit709]

33. I've been in several fights, none involved guns

The last fight I was in was 30 years ago.

[hobbit709]

40. delete

[OwnedByCats]

43. LOL

Oh yeah, didn't you know? Graham has got to be DU's biggest nanny stater. Bloomberg has nothing on Graham. He'd tell you to stop breathing if he thought it was bad for you.

[hobbit709]

46. I figured that out a long time ago. I just enjoy messing with him.

[OwnedByCats]

49. Yeah I know, I was just being funny lol

[actslikeacarrot]

48. Nannies are great for children.

..not for grown adults.

[JHB]

14. It doesn't even work as an analogy

I don't recall Clarence tackling George to prevent him from jumping.

[Bluenorthwest]

78. Most would take PATH a short ride at low fare. You know this, because you live in NJ.

How odd to pretend that a car is the only way to get to Jersey from NYC. I personally like the ferries, but the trains are swift and cheap as well. So without a car, a person could take a boat, a train or a bus to NJ from NYC cheaply, easily and quickly.

[phylny]

16. Why would NYers drive to NJ to get gas when the bridge and tunnel tolls from

most areas of NY are prohibitive?

[customerserviceguy]

112. Enough of them find occasions to get out of NYC

I sure see enough of them at my job on that side of the river. Heck, if you want to go to a Giants or Jets game, you have to go to NJ.

Besides, it would be no big trick to make it to Long Island, which isn't going to go along with this idea one bit.

[SummerSnow]

3. Wont work in NYC....

I seen stores with signs that say you have to have ID to buy beer and cigs.But they never ask when I see teens buy them.Its all about the money

[graham4anything]

5. Untrue.

The stores would be heavily fined if they are caught. Most won't chance it.

If the owner of a store knows an employee is breaking the rules, that is a fireable offense of course.

If I saw it, I would report it to the owner and to the appropriate division.
Because no reputable owner would do it. It would cost them possibly a week in $$$ if caught.

Again, some i guess would let George Bailey drown. Sorry Clarence, no wings here.

[SummerSnow]

9. lol.i see this happen all the time.depends on the neighborhood of course.

[OwnedByCats]

54. Yes because ALL

stores and their employees never break the rules or the law right? It happens, you just don't see it in your artificially sweetened utopia.

[graham4anything]

60. The person trying it might be a plant, and voila, the store gets it.

BTW-see the movie Clerks by Kevin Smith, which is based in NJ.
There is a scene in it just about this.

[OwnedByCats]

71. Yup, that can happen.

I worked in a convenience store in my teens/early twenties and I know how important checking ID's were. I was good about it, but then I wasn't interested in getting in any trouble. Unfortunately, some people are stupid and take idiotic risks. It happens. Just like with everything else, you got your good ones, then you've got your bad ones.

[Arcanetrance]

99. Trust me it happens I was buying cigs and beer at 16

[WinkyDink]

19. OP error: "Aims to" is not nearly the same as "is going to."

[graham4anything]

20. If the council, the democratic party and the mayor want it, who is going to stop it?

but in defernce will edit

[marions ghost]

24. It would help

of course they will get cigarettes otherwise but it sends a message and the thinking ones might think about it. You have to try to stop kids from starting to smoke. Once they're hooked, it's so much harder. I've seen the ravages of lifelong smoking firsthand. Since we can't outlaw it all together, what else can you do but discourage it. I'd like to see someone make a horror movie about smoking--targeted at young adults.

[graham4anything]

28. There should be a modern day version of a Stephen King short story.Quitter's Inc.(c)

Maybe have a Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift or Selena Gomez star in it.

[marions ghost]

37. You're on my wave

I read the synopsis of Quitters... Yeah a horror movie with popular celebrities in it--target to teens and young adults.

Wish somebody would do that.

[graham4anything]

45. Maybe they read D.U. (lol) nt

[marions ghost]

53. If they don't, they should

Some good ideas floated here. Not to mention how to save the world....

[customerserviceguy]

113. Kids don't 'get' messages from authority figures

You should see the ads they run on local TV of lung cancer ridden patients gasping for breath, and in pain every second of their waking lives. Really, they're just one level down from a snuff film. If that doesn't make an impression, nothing will.

Really, very little is enforced here. You should see all the obliviots texting on the roads around these parts, and you'll not often find a cop, especially if you might need one. Authority is pretty much a joke around here.

[marions ghost]

114. That's why I suggested

making a horror movie about it, with popular actors in it.

Kids (the smarter ones) respond to attempts to control harmful substances. Some kids get the message. I agree, it's weak, but what else do you do? I would put the cigarette industry out of business if I could. Along with certain other industries hazardous to your health.

[customerserviceguy]

115. They'd laugh their butts off at it

the same way you and I might ridicule "Reefer Madness".

Those kids who are going to get the message already have plenty of them from the adults in their lives. When someone finds an antidote to peer pressure, then we will stop smoking and a host of other self-destructive behaviors.

[marions ghost]

116. I dont think you understand

what I have in mind. Not talking about reefer madness type thing. More like Clockwork Orange.

[customerserviceguy]

117. Please, look at all the movies

over the last several decades that deal with bad driving, underage drinking, and now texting and driving. You just can't overcome the "nothing's going to happen to me, the people in that movie are either fakes or losers" attitude that the vast majority of young people naturally have.

[marions ghost]

118. I think it could be done

if a movie doesn't set out to "deal with" bad driving etc. More creative than that. There are ways to get to them, especially with smoking, but movie makers are afraid to go there. Has to have major talent, actors that kids already admire. If you plant the seeds of negativity, even if the change in behavior isn't immediate, it can sink in once there's more maturity. Smoking is such a health hazard that to let it be promoted to kids without serious controls and deterrents is morally wrong. Unlike drinking (or texting), there is no such thing as moderation with smoking. Tobacco is like heroin. And should be treated like that. Whatever we can do to discourage kids from getting into it should be done.

I hope one day that smoking (cigarettes not weed) will be considered the height of backward stupid.

[Nye Bevan]

25. Why not 25? Why not 30? Wouldn't that save even more lives?

I'm no fan of smoking, but I believe that adults are entitled to make their own choices. The age should be 18 for both tobacco and alcohol.

[graham4anything]

41. Driving shouldn't be allowed til 26.

It is why rent-a-cars don't let people rent car without heavy,heavy insurance until 25 or 26.

[Captain Stern]

77. Better yet....

..why not have a Federal speed limit of say, 15 mph? We could mandate that no private vehicles be capable of going faster than 15 mph.

Sure it would be inconvenient, but think of the thousands of lives that would be saved...not to mention the millions of dollars in property damage. Insurance rates would plummet.

[CBGLuthier]

27. why not 25, 30, 50?

This is yet another stupid waste of time effort that NYC seems to specialize in.

[graham4anything]

30. Why smoke in the first place? Why not quit.

90% of NY doesn't smoke now.
But the darn tourists do.

And kids are tourists too.

[OwnedByCats]

55. Why not mind your own business?

Why people quit or don't quit is none of your business.

[graham4anything]

57. If they don't have health insurance, it costs everybody,making it everybodies biz.

One now is part of everything.

One cannot filter out just one little bitty part.

And someone smoking near me, could make me sick, or better example

If one is at a club and spills a drink on someone either accidentally or because they are drunk,
the other person can request that person pay for their dry cleaning of their suit

If one smokes next to me and gets me sick, will they pay my doctor bills?

Smoking kills those standing next to you or in the same room.

We don't live in vacuums.

[OwnedByCats]

66. You sound like a repuke there Graham

You know how many times I've heard them say "I don't want to pay for everyone else's health care!". What you're doing is the very reason why not everyone was on board with single payer because they get babysat enough by the insurance companies.

I lived with single payer health care for 10 years of my life and they NEVER dictated to me, an adult, what I could and could not do in my personal lifestyle. That government never got involved in my or anyone else's health care. Of course doctors will always tell you to lose weight, stop smoking, don't consume too much sugar, alcohol etc. but that's their job. But I never had to deal with the government telling me what to do when it came to legal activity. Everybody pays into a government run health care system that everyone can use at prices they all easily afford. Do you know what their biggest concern was, money wise? Obesity. Cigarettes and what can happen as a result of smoking was small potatoes compared to the vast list of things caused by or aggravated by obesity. Plenty of people still smoke there so that's not a factor. Enough have quit to where it's not their biggest concern. It's just the government doesn't waste nearly as much money as we do and puts more back into their citizens. So instead of getting a more fair and affordable system, we got ACA and now people like you are proving to all those people I tried to convince that single payer was the way to go that yes, give the government the slightest chance to run your life and they will. Just imagine how bad it would be if we did have single payer, right?

We already have the lowest amount of smokers than ever before and that is not down to banning or restricting them. Education and support is the key. Many many people have quit. I would say what you need to be more concerned about is obesity, which is a far bigger problem, but I know you're on top of that too.

And another thing - I'm not disputing that cigs are bad for your health and if you can't tolerate the smoke because you have asthma, allergies or other respiratory problems - well I thought we took care of that by banning smoking in all public buildings? I agree that smokers should not smoke around non smokers and I never did when I was a smoker because it's inconsiderate and a douche bag thing to do. The thing that bothers me about the hysteria is that of all the people that I have known who have either had cancer or died from it, only one was a smoker. The other 30 I've known of all different ages and cancer types either never smoked or smoked for a very short period of time earlier in their life and their cancer was in no way related to that. Cancer is on the rise and smoking is not the biggest problem. There is a lot more to this than just the smokers. I wish Monsanto would stay the hell out of our food supply but no, everyone is more worried about cigarettes. Monsanto is nothing more than a poison manufacturer. Try doing something about that in your crusade for a healthier America.

[stevenleser]

74. As opposed to someone fighting to keep big tobacco raking in the profits at the expense of death and

maiming of millions of people? I think you need to think about what right wing means when you are protecting the worst of the big corporate offenders.

[OwnedByCats]

97. A person can easily not smoke

It's a choice. At least we know smoking is bad for us, but Monsanto is a much bigger problem because they are adding their crap to the food supply when a lot of people can't afford to buy everything organic. Everybody has to eat, people don't have to smoke. I can't even buy produce without wondering if any of Monsanto's products have been used. I stay away from their artificial sweetener as it gives me the worst migraines I've ever had, but millions consume it every day. Monsanto is more than just aspartame now. Monsanto has the potential to do more damage than the tobacco companies ever thought of doing.

I'm not protecting tobacco companies at all. I'm simply speaking against the nanny state, or at least what is chosen to be focused on by the nanny state. If you're concerned about people's health, you might want to start with the food supply that all of us consume in one way or another instead of the smaller group of smokers. Continuing education and support for those quitting is the best defense against the tobacco companies as more and more people quit and those who are educated enough not to even start smoking. Those efforts should be continued. People feel more comfortable giving something up when they feel it was their choice, than the choice of the government who took it away.

[JVS]

51. Careful, raise the age too much and there won't be enough income to pay for schip

[RZM]

29. Nonsense

Smoking is bad for you and the less of it the better. But it's insane to tell an 18 year old New Yorker that they could be sent to war because of selective service but unfortunately they are not yet mature enough to buy cigarettes.

The great crapulizer gets more annoying by the day.

[graham4anything]

39. This is for the tourists. NYers already don't smoke much. This is for the tourists.

NYC is after all the #1 tourist destination in the USA along with Los Angeles.

[RZM]

50. Who the targets are or how much New Yorkers smoke aren't important

There are plenty of people in the city who smoke, BTW - so this will affect them.

Bloomie and co. continue to embarrass themselves and their city with their nanny-state nonsense.

[OwnedByCats]

56. Oh so you want to tell visitors

what they can and cannot do now? Not content with bossing around all the millions who live there?

[graham4anything]

59. They are our guests. They can't smoke in hotel rooms you know. NONE of them.

They know they can't smoke in hotels, bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, theatres,
anywhere inside. ZERO.

If you know NYC, you know, the biggest superstar in a Broadway play has to come outside and smoke.

NYC is akin to a home. NO ONE and I mean NO ONE can smoke in my house or car.
Even if its 20below windchill, outside they go if they want one.
And away from the door so the wind don't blow it back. (And finish the final puff too, not bringing it in.)

People know this.

And people can't buy drinks.

Guests shouldn't break the rules.
Same with guns/bullets. We don't want them.

[OwnedByCats]

70. No they don't smoke in hotel rooms, they go

outside dear. Believe me, I agree that if you don't want it in your home and car, you should have the right to be smoke free. I don't have problems with smokers having to go outside or designated areas, if there are any. The rules are fine. That was really just a joke on my part about nannying up the tourists.

[Bluenorthwest]

96. 'Our guests'? You live in NJ, where hotels can and do allow smoking in up to 20% of rooms

at any given property. When you are in NYC, you are their guest, a Bridge and Tunnel guy from NJ, where folks check in and smoke up a storm.
It is interesting that you have not focused on your own State of residence if this is so important to you.
C.26:3D-60 Hotel, motel, lodging establishment, smoking permitted, certain areas.

6. a. The person having control of a hotel, motel or other lodging establishment may permit smoking in up to 20% of its guest rooms.

b. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a hotel, motel or other lodging establishment to provide a nonsmoking room to a guest if all the designated nonsmoking rooms are occupied.

http://www.state.nj.us/health/ctcp/smokefree/act.shtml

[LiberalAndProud]

76. Tourists will pack their own cigarettes.

Goodness knows smoking isn't cheap in NY. Smokers will stock up before touring.

[Bluenorthwest]

91. According to NYC, 14.2% of residents are smokers, that's 1,170,777 smoking NYers

That's down from 22% a few years ago. But over a million smokers makes 'this is for the tourists' laughable. Also, tourists bring cigs with them because like everything else in NYC they are more expensive than anywhere else.

[HiPointDem]

31. what a bunch of stupid fucks. no, not stupid -- fascist. criminalizing tobacco

= more kids with records for the prison to profit pipeteers and the surveillance capitalists.

fuck them all

[graham4anything]

34. So are you against the democratic rep. that this bill was brought forth by?

In the past in prior posts retorting my opinion, I do believe you already expressed your dislike of Christine Quinn who is looking to become the first Gay and first female mayor of NYC.
Let alone the democratic liberal mayor of NYC who is part of Team Obama on Guns/bullets and was on the cover of Time Magazine with Gabbie Giffords and Vice President Biden.

[HiPointDem]

35. go away word salad

[Ter]

101. A lot of Democratic Rep's are worthless

There are some who want to ban large sodas, plastic bags, and Happy Meals. Those are the ones that are garbage.

[tabbycat31]

105. Bloomberg's not a Democrat

He was elected as a Republican.

[Sunlei]

38. It's the sellers who would have the legal problems that would tend to put them in prison.

Though I agree the private prisons are a national shame but it doesn't seem like they will go away anytime soon. Many states have signed 30 year contracts with 'for profit' prisons, guaranteeing to pay state funds. This is why a lot of states say they are broke.

[HiPointDem]

44. it's all part of criminalizing someone, and more state intrusion into lots of things.

fuck the bloomberg dynasty, because quinn is just bloomberg's creature. and bloo,berg is one of the masters of the universe.

[Sunlei]

47. no its part of "should the legal age to buy be 18 or 21?" what do you think?

keep in mind that ciggies are bad for health and addictive. That is a fact, don't you agree?

not to argue with you if bloomburg is an ass or not

[Sunlei]

32. Thats probably a good idea for drinking aswell. And the military for the combat part should be 21.

[graham4anything]

36. That's federal. This is local. (or state). In America they are separate parts.

[Sunlei]

42. yes, I wish 21 was a federal law instead of having some states stay in the dark ages another decade.

we have some states in america who never got over the civil war loss

[SoCalDem]

52. Yay....more 18 yr olds in jail

for stealing them...

[HockeyMom]

58. Little Neck/Great Neck

One can literally cross the street in Little Neck, Queens, and be in Great Neck, Nassau County, where it would be perfectly legal to buy cigarettes at 18 years old. It would also be a cheaper than paying all the NYC taxes on them.

Speaking of $$$, the Shinnecock reservation in Shirley, Suffolk County, sells a carton of cigarettes for $15. You only need to be over 18 there, nor a Native. I have been there a few times and the lines of cars were unbelievable. I know a woman who goes there once a week and brings back cartons for all her friends and relatives. They just give her the money for them.

It is not very difficult to cross over the border of NYC to Nassau County.

[JHB]

61. There's certainly some shops near PATH stations in Jersey City and Hoboken...

...that will see an uptick in their smoke sales.

Give Chris Christie more sales- and tobacco-tax money. Brilliant!

[Bluenorthwest]

93. The OP is a resident of NJ. Which is interesting.

nt

[JHB]

98. Sometimes he is, and sometimes he isn't.

In this thread, maybe his residence is Bedford Falls.

[HockeyMom]

108. I worked for a NYC Cigarette Mfg. when I was 20

All employees got a carton of free cigarettes as a part of their employee perks. Hell, when I worked for a Beauty Products Corp. I got Beauty Products FREE too as an employee. When I worked for a pharmaceutical corporation who manufactured the Pill, I got FREE contraceptives! Hello, Cardinal Dolan? How many Catholic worked there?

Sale of cigarettes? These were FREE to EMPLOYEES. How would they stop that? Bar anyone under the age of 21 from working at a Cigarette Corporation?

[HockeyMom]

110. While I agree with Bloomberg, NYC, NYS, on guns

which can kill OTHER people, I don't on other things; smoking, big sodas, FAT FOOD, etc., can only kill the person using them and should be their choice alone. If I want to kill myself with smoking (64 years old), drinking big sodas (don't like), or Big Macs (once every 6 months?), that is MY choice and I don't need government telling me I can't do that.

[graham4anything]

106. Now. Lifetime New Yorker. Major John Lindsay fan. Like Bloomberg, JVL had many haters

everybody good always has haters

[MadHound]

62. Is there any authoritarian action in this country that you're not in favor of?

Seriously, it seems like you cheer on any authoritarian measure that is brought up anywhere in this country, or even outside of it.

[hobbit709]

69. You guessed it.

[1-Old-Man]

63. How about the drinking age? Alcohol is nothing but a poison.

The most dangerous substance ever created by man, responsible for more pain and suffering than any other cause other than religion.

[graham4anything]

64. The drinking age already is 21.

[Xyzse]

67. It seems that Cigarettes is one of the most trafficked items in America.

Where, there was a small study that had people pick up the cigarette carton litter that was in New York and found that overwhelmingly they are from a different state. (I have to look for that in NPR.)

Meaning, to avoid the high tax levied in New York for cigarettes, most people buy it from other states.

Actually, ashamed to say it, but I think my father did that a bit. I don't smoke, but I do remember him years back buying a ton of cigarettes from West Virginia just before he had to visit a friend in New York.
He didn't do it often, but he found a place where cigarettes were relatively cheap and brought it up.

No, I was not part of those runs, I think I was still in high school during that time. So it was during the 90s.

Either way, things like this, to me is dependent on the State. If the general populace of the area support that, I don't care to really weigh in. I am just mentioning the reality that a large portion of the cigarettes smoked in New York was not bought from their stores, so they lose out on those taxes.

However, it is also something they do not want in the area, so it does make it harder and somewhat limits it.

[sarisataka]

84. Why not just prohibit cigarette sales in NY

all this does is delay cancer by three years. As you pointed out, 2nd hand smoke is also harmful and many smoking parents do so around their children. Do not they deserve protection?

[hughee99]

85. Smoking where? You can barely smoke anywhere in NYC now. n/t

[bigwillq]

94. Does having the drinking age at 21 really keep minors

from not getting their hands on alcohol? I don't know the stats. Just a question.
Not sure if having the age to buy smokes will prevent minors from getting their hands on cigarettes.

[Ter]

100. Yet you can still star in a porno at 18

Even cooler.

[Lizzie Poppet]

107. Or get your ass shot off in Afghanistan.

[Zorra]

102. Nicotine addiction has killed many people who I loved over the years. nt

[HockeyMom]

111. Do you know if a person is over 70 years old,

nothing can be "blamed" on their death by medical standards? I was very surprised to learn that one when my Mom died at 74 from a heart attack. Yes, she smoked, but seriously, how much longer would she have survied anyway? 10 years??? When you reach a certain age, SOMETHING will kill you. We humans don't live fvorever.