Students React to Smoker-Aimed Legislation

Olivier Douliery

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks to the press about the administration’s proposals to reduce gun violence after meeting with Vice President Joe Biden at the White House February 27, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCT)

By IAN MCKENNA and TAYLER BENNETT
November 3, 2013

New York City lawmakers passed a bill that would raise the legal age to purchase tobacco products, like cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos and even electronic cigarettes, from 18 to 21 on Oct. 30, 2013. While this age raise is the apparent centerpiece of the new legislation, which will go into effect six months after it is signed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the bill also increases penalties for any distributor or retailer who fails to pay tobacco taxes, prohibits discounts on tobacco products and institutes a minimum price of $10.50 for a pack of cigarettes.

Fordham College at Lincoln Center student smokers shared what they thought of the bill, how people might get around it and what it means to them.

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About the Contributors

IAN MCKENNA, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus

TAYLER BENNETT, Managing Editor Emerita

Comments (2)

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M

Mike • Sep 2, 2014 at 10:10 pm

$10 for a pack of smokes? You really have to be addicted to nicotine if you pay that much money.

By the way, here we go again with liberals trying to save us from ourselves by legislating behavior.


https://fordhamobserver.com/17056/recent/news/students-react-to-smoker-aimed-legislation/#comment-12578
D

David Vassar • Nov 5, 2013 at 8:39 pm

I’m not a student, I’m an aging administrator here at Fordham, but I’d feel a lot older if I’d started smoking at the age of the students in your video.

The legislation isn’t as good as a total ban on this personal and social poison, but it’s a good and important step.

I applaud the young lady in your video who sounds like she’s taking this legislation as a cue to quit smoking altogether. It’s also a long-overdue measure for all of us who dislike having to put up with the noxious stench of second-hand smoke in our outdoor public spaces, including Fordham’s campuses .

I don’t agree with many of Mayor Bloomberg’s social and educational policies, but I think his community health and environmental initiatives–e.g., discouraging smoking and encouraging bicycling–promises great benefits for Fordham as well as for our greater urban community.

Thanks for considering my comments.


https://fordhamobserver.com/17056/recent/news/students-react-to-smoker-aimed-legislation/#comment-7796