Not yet 21? Can't buy cigarettes in New York

New York, where at least 20,000 teenagers in public high schools smoke, may become the first major city in the US to ban the sale of tobacco to anyone under the age of 21. New York City council speaker Christine Quinn has proposed a law that would raise the minimum age requirement to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21. "Too many adult smokers begin this deadly habit before age 21," said Quinn. "By delaying our city's children and young adults access to lethal tobacco products, we're decreasing the likelihood they ever start smoking, and thus, creating a healthier city," Quinn said in a statement. Most smokers in NYC started smoking before they turned 21, according to city council. Raising the legal purchase age to 21 would reduce the opportunities for young people to buy cigarettes themselves or to get them indirectly from older youth, it said. "When used as intended, tobacco kills one-third of the people who use it," said NYC department of health and mental hygiene commissioner Thomas Farley. "By raising the legal purchase age to 21, we will prevent a generation of New Yorkers from becoming addicted to smoking and ultimately save thousands of lives," Farley said. -->