The nanny state is creeping across the border.
New Jersey lawmakers traveled all the way to New York City Hall Thursday to announce their plans to introduce legislation boosting the tobacco purchase age in the Garden State to 21. The announcement comes less than a month after City Council Speaker Christine Quinn unveiled similar plans for the city, which were quickly followed by lawmakers in Albany. Read More
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been accused of many things over the years, but at a press conference today, a representative of the New York Association of Grocery Stores provided a new nickname: magician.
“This mayor must be the great Houdini–he must be Houdini–because in 2001, when he took office, we were selling 42 million cartons of cigarettes in the City of New York,” the representative, David Schwartz, contended. “The great Houdini waved his magic wand and all of a sudden, in 2013 we’re selling 7 million cartons of cigarettes.”
Mr. Schwartz, needless to say, did not find that drop a credible reflection of actual declines in smoking. Read More
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that he, too, had his doubts about a plan to boost the age on purchasing cigarettes, until those tony folks in England tried it first.
“I was always skeptical,” Mr. Bloomberg told reporters following a press event Tuesday announcing a deal to build what officials touted as the largest ice complex on the planet at the stalled Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx.
“But it was actually done in England recently and it really did work,” he said. Read More
Earlier today, Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Health Commissioner Tom Farley unveiled new legislation to raise the city’s minimum age threshold for tobacco purchases from 18 to 21 years. The move was applauded by smoking advocates, including Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Lung Association of the Northeast and more, but not everyone was happy with the bill.
Notably, Jim Calvin, the president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores, argued that the vast majority of underage smokers obtain their cigarettes from older relatives and friends–not by over-the-counter purchases–rendering the legislation ineffective. Read More
Fresh off a setback in his effort to ban large soda cups in restaurants, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is out with another health initiative that could cause controversy: requiring stores to keep cigarette packs out of sight.
“New York City has dramatically lowered our smoking rate, but even one new smoker is one too many – especially when it’s a young person,” Mayor Bloomberg announced in a press release. “Young people are targets of marketing and the availability of cigarettes and this legislation will help prevent another generation from the ill health and shorter life expectancy that comes with smoking.” Read More
Did Congressman Rangel get hacked on Twitter?
Get your Indian reservation cigarettes while you still can! Governor Cuomo won’t confirm or deny rumors he’s going to start seizing shipments of the tax-free stogies.
Albany County Executive-elect Dan McCoy has quite an entourage. Read More
