New York City Suburb Weighs Raising Smoking Age to 21

A wealthy northern suburb of New York City may raise the age to smoke and vape from 18 to 21.

Lawmakers in Westchester County, which has a population of 976,000, say increasing the age limit on the sales of tobacco, e-cigarettes, rolling papers and other accessories would help reduce the amount of young people who become hooked on smoking.

If the Westchester pushes the age up by three years, it will join New York City and 10 other counties in the Empire State which have already increased it to 21.

Westchester lawmakers may vote on the issue Monday night, following a public hearing in White Plains, lohud.com reports.

According to the state Department of Health, smoking kills about 28,000 New Yorkers each year, and about 750,000 live with a serious smoking-related illness such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

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