Now it’s Nanny Quinn’s turn.
After three terms of aggressive public-health measures championed by Mayor Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is spearheading the city’s latest crusade to bar under-21s from buying cigarettes.
A Council bill announced Monday by Quinn and Health Commissioner Thomas Farley would make New York the first major city in the country to raise the minimum age to buy tobacco from 18 to 21.
“That will literally save lives,” Quinn said. “The more difficult it is for [young people] to gain access to tobacco products, the less likely they are to start smoking.”
The bill is a sign that Quinn, a leading mayoral contender, would carry on Mayor Bloomberg’s trademark public health agenda if elected.
Bloomberg, who opposed raising the smoking age in 2006, has come around to the idea, though he is taking a background role as Quinn takes center stage on the effort.
She said the idea was initially proposed by Councilman James Gennaro (D-Queens).
For her part, Quinn — who opposed the mayor’s blocked move to ban big soda — made it clear Monday that she admires his initiatives, which critics deride as creating a nanny state.
“The mayor probably has the most effective public health agenda of any mayor in history in the United States,” she said. “This is another example of moving that aggressive public health agenda forward.”
The cigarette proposal follows a recent Bloomberg push to force stores to keep tobacco products out of sight. The city banned smoking in bars and restaurants 10 years ago and made it illegal in parks and on beaches in 2011.
Under Bloomberg, the city has also banned trans fats and required restaurants to post calorie counts.
Officials cite data showing that 80% of smokers in the city started before age 21 — and a study that found raising the legal age to 21 could cut smoking rates among 18-to-20-year-olds by more than half.
“If we can prevent our youth from starting smoking before they’re 21, we may just be able to protect an entire generation from a lifetime of being addicted to the world’s most dangerous drug,” Farley said.
Young smokers said new laws would not stop them from getting cigarettes.
“Even if the law passes, we always find a way to get cigarettes,” said Jeff Lee, 20, a computer science major taking a puff outside NYU. “I was 16 when I started smoking. I always bought them even though I couldn’t get them legally.”
Poli Ivanova, 20, agreed. “I’m pre-med. I should not be smoking. History has shown you can’t stop people even if you move the age to 21. Kids still drink and get alcohol even when they are under 21,” she said.
But Nick Raverch, 20, said it was worth a try. “I wish I didn’t start smoking when I was 13,” he said. “I’m trying to quit. Maybe this law would stop teens from smoking. Once you start smoking, it’s hard to quit. Kids get still get cigarettes, though. I always got them when I was 13.”
Newsstand owner Mohammed Alan, 49, said the law would be a blow to business. “We have too many restrictions already,” he said. “I have students who come here [who] are 171/2. I don’t sell them cigarettes and they curse at me. . . . I’ll have fewer customers.”
edurkin@nydailynews.com
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A look at some local reactions:
“It’s bad. We’re barely moving cartons now. We’ll be down to selling 3 to 4 packs a day. Our business is young people: the 18-year-olds, the college kids. I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
— Hossain Mohamad,
East Village deli manager
“It’s not going to work. Cigarettes are like food. Getting your hands on them is easy.”
— Tevon Chambers, 19, Bronx
resident hanging out in Union Square
“Even though I smoke, I hate cigarettes. I started smoking at 15. If I wouldn’t have been able to buy cigarettes, I’d be healthy.”
— Justin Ramos, Brooklyn resident hanging out in Union Square
“I favor it. We have to think about the kids. I can sell all sorts of things to make money: soda, beer, candy. Raising the age will be good for the youth.”
— Javed Hyder,
East Village deli worker
