Hospital President Steven Kelley, podium, discusses the new law
while Ulster Executive Michael Hein and
Health Commissioner Dr. Carol Smith listen
ELLENVILLE – Ulster County has joined the growing list of Hudson
Valley counties to adopt a local law prohibiting the sale of tobacco and
vaping products to persons under the age of 21.
County Executive Michael Hein signed the measure at a ceremony on Thursday
at Ellenville Regional Hospital. He noted the negative effects of smoking
at a young age.
“It impacts Ulster County specifically because in the Robert Wood
Johnson health rankings where we have made such improvements, there is
an area in which we were lagging behind and that area was specifically
youth smoking and what that means, obviously long term health-wise. So
we recognized that we wanted to act and act quickly,” he said.
To County Legislator Tracy Bartels, illness from smoking is personal.
“I am a mother of a seven-year-old daughter who is named after my
aunt who my family lost to smoking-related cancer and hopefully this will
change so many lives and it is obviously a piece of legislation that will
be felt for many, many generations to come,” she said.
Ellenville Regional Hospital President Steven Kelley had a pointed observation.
“This will be legislation that will be raising the age for the purchase
of the only legal substance that if used properly leads to the death of
most of the people that take it,” he said.
Ulster now joins Orange, Westchester, Rockland and Sullivan counties
in adopting similar local laws.
