‘Tobacco 21’ legislation now in Hein’s hands
KINGSTON, N.Y. » Ulster County Executive Michael Hein will spend the next several days reviewing comments made during a public hearing before acting on legislation to ban the sale of tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21.
“The next step for my administration is to review the information we received, to consult with [county Health Commissioner] Dr. Carol Smith and to do our due diligence,” Hein said Wednesday. “That said, I am extremely focused on protecting our children and the long term health of all Ulster County residents.”
Hein said the hearing held by his administration on Tuesday drew both supporters and opponents of the law, which would raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco products in Ulster County from 18 to 21. Hein has long been a proponent of the change.
The county Legislature on May 15 unanimously approved increasing the minimum purchase age,, sending the bill to Hein for a final decision.
The executive has 30 days to act. If he signs the legislation, it will take effect on Jan. 1, 2019.
Hein called on lawmakers in 2017 and again this year to approve the legislation, saying the move would reduce the number of tobacco-related deaths and move Ulster closer to becoming a healthier county.
At a county Legislature public hearing in April, more than a dozen antismoking advocates and others urged passage of the legislation, saying it would help reduce the possibility that today’s youths will become tomorrow’s adult smokers. But local convenience store owners and the head of the trade group that represents neighborhood convenience stores said the bill is “based on a flawed assumption” that the law would prevent smoking among youths. They also said it would cause businesses to “forfeit legitimate sales.”
If Hein signs the legislation, Ulster County will join more than a dozen localities statewide — including Orange, Rockland, Sullivan and Albany — that have raised the minimum age for tobacco purchases, according to the Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation, which is championing “Tobacco 21,” a national effort aimed at raising the age to 21 nationwide.
In April, the Dutchess County, the Legislature’s Government Services Committee defeated a proposal to raise the tobacco purchase age in the county to 21.