NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A558A
SPONSOR: Rosenthal L (MS) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public health law and the penal
law, in relation to increasing the purchasing age for tobacco products
from eighteen to twenty-one
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill will amend the public health law and the administrative code
of New York City to increase the age in which an individual can buy
cigarettes from eighteen to twenty-one years of age. Summary Of Specif-
ic Provisions:
Section one amends Subdivision 4 of section 1399-aa of the Public Health
Law by deleting the age of "eighteen" and replacing it with "twenty-
one."
Section two amends Paragraphs (b), (c) and (f) of subdivision 2 of
section l399-bb of the Public Health Law by removing "eighteen" an d
replacing it with "twenty-one."
Section three amends Subdivision 4 and 5 of section 1399-bb of the
Public Health Law by removing "eighteen" and replacing it with "twenty-
one."
Section four amends Subdivisions 2, 3 and 7 of section 1399-cc of the
Public Health Law by removing "eighteen" and replacing it with "twenty-
one."
Section five amends Subdivision (d) of Section 1399-dd of the Public
Health Law by removing "eighteen" and replacing it with "twenty- one."
Section six amends Subdivision I of Section 1399-ff of the Public Health
Law by deleting the word "minor" and replacing it with "person under
twenty-one years of age."
Section seven amends Paragraphs (b) and (c) of Section 1399-11 of the
Public Health Law by removing "eighteen" and replacing it with "twenty-
one."
Section eight amends Subdivision 1 of paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivi-
sion 2 of Section 1399-mm of the Public Health Law is amended by remov-
ing "eighteen" and replacing it with "twenty-one."
Section nine amends Subdivision 3 of section 260.21 of the Penal Law by
removing "eighteen" and replacing it with "twenty-one."
Section ten sets forth the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Every year in New York State, 53,000 youth under the age of eighteen
become regular smokers. Many of them tried their first cigarette before
they entered high school. 389,000 youth under the age of eighteen in New
York will ultimately die prematurely from smoking. Of those youth who
become regular smokers, half of them will eventually die from smoking
related disease. They will suffer from cancer, emphysema, heart disease,
asthma, hypertension, and other ailments. New York spend s over $8
billion caring for people made sick from smoking and New York residents'
State and Federal tax burden from smoking caused healthcare expenditures
is approximately $900 per household.
The key to reducing the number of smokers in New York is to stop them
before they start. By raising the smoking age to twenty-one, we can
remove cigarettes from high schoolers and eliminates a popular source of
tobacco from underage children.
The best way to reduce the number of citizens who smoke is to prevent
the initiation of tobacco use. A fairly short time passes between initi-
ation and addiction, and most interventions miss this small window of
opportunity. The majority of smokers sixteen years of age and younger
are intermittent users; addictive smoking requiring regular purchased
begins later, at a median age of seventeen. Raising the purchase age
provides an opportunity to expose intermittent users to strong counter-
marketing and de-normalizing campaigns. Keeping our youth tobacco free
for a longer period of time allows such interventions to reach them
before they become regular users.
Simply delaying tobacco use provides a number of benefits. The earlier
people begin to smoke, the higher their risk for contracting lung cancer
and other health problems. Just being able to stop a small percentage of
these youth from smoking will yield incredible savings in medical bills
and lost work.
Since tobacco use continues to persist among youth and young adults, New
York State must take further action. Preventing young adults from taking
up smoking is critical because, according to the Surgeon General, 88% of
adult smokers started the habit before age 18, and 90 percent of the
people who purchase cigarettes for minors are between the ages of 18 and
20.
By raising the legal purchase age to twenty-one, we will help prevent a
generation of New Yorkers from becoming addicted to smoking and ulti-
mately save thousands of lives. By delaying children and young adults
access to tobacco products, we will reduce the likelihood they ever
start smoking and therefore create a healthier state.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2017-18: A.273 - Advanced to Third Reading; S.3978 - Reported to Finance
2015-16: A.237 - Referred to Health
2013-14: A.7105 -.Referred to Health; S.4863 - Referred to Health
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it
shall have become a law.
