It’s now the law in Westchester
WHITE PLAINS – Westchester County is now the latest county in the region to raise the legal age by which a person may purchase tobacco products.
The Board of Legislators approved the measure Monday night and on Wednesday, County Executive George Latimer signed it into law. He lauded the new law’s health benefits and the collaboration between lawmakers and his office in crafting it.
Board of Legislators’ Chairman Benjamin Boykin termed this “a good day for the health and well-being for the young people” of the county.
Legislator MaryJane Shimsky, chairwoman of the Public Works Committee,
called nicotine “a really insidious drug” especially in adolescents
and young adults.
“It compromises the functioning of developing impulse control, of developing executive function, and it makes young people more susceptible to addiction of more serious and dangerous drugs,” Shimsky said.
Orange and Rockland counties have already adopted similar laws and on Thursday, Ulster County Executive Michael Hein will sign his county’s Tobacco21 law.
