KINGSTON – Ulster County Executive Michael Hein will propose raising the legal age by which to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21. Orange County has just enacted that law, which will take effect on June 1.
Hein said that statistics are clear – 90 percent of all smokers in the US light up by age 18.
“If we can postpone the time of the first cigarette, we can make an enormous difference in avoiding preventable cancers, stroke and heart disease among our children,” he said on Monday. “We have a real opportunity to do something from a public health perspective.”
County Legislature Chairman Kenneth Ronk supports the idea for health
reasons, but he would like the measure’s language to be such that
it does not hurt the merchant that currently sells tobacco products.
A similar concern was raised in neighboring Sullivan County, which is
also considering a Tobacco 21 law.
“Almost everywhere else in the state, it is 18 and it is going to take a breaking in period where I would like to see fines waived for a certain period of time,” Ronk said. “That is something that comes in negotiations.”
Hein will formally announce his initiative when he delivers his annual state of the county address on Thursday.
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