In a proposal unveiled by City Health Commissioner Thomas Farley last week, New York City may see the legal age to buy cigarettes raised to 21 from 18. While the proposal would ban sales of cigarettes to those under 21, members of that age group could still legally possess and smoke tobacco. This proposal infringes on young adults’ freedom to an undue degree and should be scrapped immediately.
Since the inauguration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration in 2002, a number of efforts to curb smoking in the city have been implemented. Bans on smoking in restaurants and bars have passed under his watch, and recent expansions of bans to public parks, plazas and beaches have also taken effect.
Bloomberg is seen as a public health advocate, and has used the power of his office to implement proposals. His effort to ban so called “Big Gulp” sugary drinks was struck down by a New York judge just days before taking effect in March. Like his Big Gulp proposal, this proposal on cigarettes is a step too far.
A majority of New Yorkers are critical of the proposal, as it cuts into the personal freedoms treasured by Americans. At age 18, Americans are old enough to vote and serve in the armed forces, but are still treated like kids who need their hands held and are spoon-fed the best way to live their lives under this proposal.
Farley has defended the proposal, saying that most people make the transition from experimental smoking to regular smoking around age 20, squarely in the middle of the ban’s target. City officials cite a 2010 survey from the United Kingdom showing that smoking dropped by 30 percent among 16 and 17-year-olds after the legal age to buy tobacco was raised from 16 to 18.
But there is a fundamental difference between holding a child’s hand until they are 18 and holding their hand until they are 21: They legally become adults at 18, and should not have their freedoms encroached upon.
Additional criticism of the proposal comes from the fact that possession and the actual smoking of tobacco will still be legal, so young adults will simply be able to buy their cigarettes from their friends who already are 21.
California and Texas have made efforts to raise the age of tobacco sales in their states to 21 in similar proposals, but have largely been scared off by the lost tax revenue that may result. Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey and Utah have successfully raised the smoking age in their states to 19, but the gap between 19 and 21 is still large. The upper class suburb of Needham, Massachusetts is the only jurisdiction that has successfully raised its tobacco sale age to 21.
The proposal on the table in New York City still needs to be passed by the city council and win Bloomberg’s signature. But it needs to be stopped before it has the chance to pass and take effect. Its severe encroachment on the freedom of young American adults is too large to ignore. The proliferation of New York City’s “nanny state” has gone far enough.
