Posted on 10/31/2013 1:35:24 PM PDT by justiceseeker93
Young New Yorkers who want to light up will soon have to wait for their 21st birthdays before they can buy a pack of smokes after lawmakers in the nation's most populous city voted overwhelmingly to raise the tobacco-purchasing age from 18 to 21.
City Council's vote Wednesday makes New York the biggest city to bar cigarette sales to 19- and 20-year-olds, and one of only a few places throughout the United States that have tried to stymie smoking among young people by raising the purchasing age. The age limit also would apply to electronic-vapor cigarettes, The council also approved a bill that sets a minimum $10.50-a-pack price for tobacco cigarettes and steps up law enforcement on illegal tobacco sales.
"We know that tobacco dependence can begin very soon after a young person first tries smoking so it's critical that we stop young people from smoking before they ever start," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement after the council's vote.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
Yes, as everyone knows, tobacco is potentially dangerous to one's health, but is both legal and a traditional tax revenue raiser for governments at all levels. That being said, there has to be some point at which increasing the difficulty of obtaining the product accrues to the detriment of the government and the entire population.
Just a few considerations which these ultraleftist nanny statist politicians marching in step with this new ban either never thought of or scoffed at:
(1) Age 18 is deemed old enough to vote or to risk one's life defending the country, yet people of that age aren't deemed capable enough to make a decision on whether to buy and use tobacco.
(2) The federal, state, and city governments will be losing tax revenue as tobacco sales decrease due to the ban. Thus they will likely come up with some other more odious tax increase to make up for it.
(3) The more difficult the nanny state makes it to get a potentially addictive product, the more organized crime will be economically encouraged to amp up its already flourishing bootlegging and black market tobacco operations.
(4) Likewise, there comes a point where making obtaining tobacco excessively difficult could eventually lead to more street crime, as young people banned from legally purchasing the product rob others to obtain it.
(5) E-cigarettes, also part of this ban for 18 to 20 year olds, are not associated with any deadly disease, as far as is known. So what's the justification for including them, other than a typical nanny state mindset?
(6) The fine for a first offense for selling the banned tobacco products to an underage buyer is $ 1,000. Considering that many of the businesses involved will be little "mom and pop" operations, a reasonable observer might be inclined to consider this amount grossly excessive. But that amount is indicative of the disdain that these leftist nanny state political pipsqueaks have for small business in general.
I’ve always loved the movie scenes that have the “SUSPECT” being questioned by the police.
The suspect lights up a cigarette and the police say “You can’t smoke in here”.
Suspect: “What are you doing to do?, arrest me ?”
I predict big sales of smokes in Nassau County and Westchester County towns, right across the border from NYC. People will do cigarette runs.
Heck, some may even do bootleg cigarette operations to sell to the under 21 crowd in NYC.
Once the 9/11 museum is fully operational, I plan to make one weekend trip to NYC to see that and the shuttle. Other than that, I see no reason to go to said city.
Without doubt, a sizable number of those supporting this move also support lowering the voting age to 16.
Flash: sudden massive increase in teen smoking. Kwickee marts along state borders see sudden massive increase in business. Democrat politicians baffled
“Without doubt, a sizable number of those supporting this move also support lowering the voting age to 16.”
And the age of consent to 8
Black market profiteers thank you.
Ping!!!
Suspect: “What are you doing to do?, arrest me ?”
Obviously, you're talking about old movies.
Today, the "suspect" would not be arrested a second time, but would have the smoking violation added to charges he'd be booked on.
The idea of banning smoking in public indoor places is reasonable. But unfortunately, nanny statists have taken it well beyond that in NYC.
There are already plenty of bootleg cigarette operations in NYC. This new legislation will just be more of an incentive for them. The nanny state leftists of the NYC Council either never thought of that or couldn't care less.
I haven't heard the left, even in NYC, advocate to reduce the minimum voting age to 16...not yet.
They have, however, suggested that one need not be an American citizen to vote locally in NYC.
Please don't give them any more perverse ideas. They already have enough of their own!
They should be executed, that will end the problem. Either the smokers or the officials. New Yorkers can choose.
When does Bloomberg’s term end?
The end of the 2013 calendar year.
Don't expect any improvement on the nanny state front. The new mayor, to be determined by election next Tuesday, is almost sure to be ultraleft Democrat Bill De Blasio.
Preposterous. God, I can’t wait till I can escape from this STUPID state.
Regards,
no subway per se. not part of the NY subway system.
path train though.
Now guess what young people in NYC have to do to be cool?
If you have cigarettes, especially those without a tax stamp, it means you have connections, money, and can thumb your nose at the city and do what you want to do.
Total teen rebellion. And being cool.
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