Age To Buy Tobacco, E-Cigarettes To Go Up Throughout NY

Effective Wednesday, the age for buying tobacco products or electronic cigarettes will go up to 21 all over New York State. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation in July raising the minimum sales age from 18 to 21.

"New York is taking aggressive action to stamp out smoking among teens and children, but tobacco an e-cigarette use still persists thanks to irresponsible corporate marketing campaigns," he said at the time in a statement.

There are already a few counties that had already raised the minimum age to 21, according to the state Department of Health.

They include Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island and Orange, Rockland, Ulster and Westchester counties in the Hudson Valley.

When the law was signed, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro said he welcomed the statewide legislation that would raise the age for his county as well.

He said studies show that e-cigarette use predicts future cigarette use.

"This legislation is necessary and important so we don't see a reversal in all of the progress made in reducing tobacco usage," Molinaro said in a statement.

The state Health Department said that the definition of tobacco products includes cigarettes, loose cigarettes, cigars, bidis, gutka, chewing tobacco, powdered tobacco, nicotine water, herbal cigarettes, shisha, smoking paraphernalia and liquid nicotine. Age restrictions also apply to e-cigarettes and similar devices.

Penalties to retailers for illegal sales to minors include fines, loss of license to sell lottery tickets and loss of license to see tobacco products.

About 28,000 adult New Yorkers die every year as a result of smoking. According to health officials, tobacco use continues to be the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the state.

An increasing number of underage youth are using both traditional cigarettes and vaping devices, the state said. Use by young people of e-cigarettes increased by 160 percent from 10.5 percent to 27.4 percent from 2014 to 2018. More than half of teenagers incorrectly believe that e-cigarette use is not harmful.

According to the Surgeon General, 88 percent of adult smokers started using tobacco before they were 18, and 90 percent of the people who buy cigarettes for minors are between the ages of 18 and 20.