Be 21 or no cigs for you – state

ALBANY — New York officially raised the statewide smoking age to 21 Tuesday in an effort to combat a recent rise in teenage tobacco use.

With e-cigarettes gaining popularity among young adults, officials hope raising the legal purchase age will lead to a decline in smoking. A majority of smokers pick up the unhealthy habit while in their teens.

“New York is taking aggressive action to stamp out smoking among teens and children, but tobacco and e-cigarette use still persists thanks to irresponsible corporate marketing campaigns targeting young people,” Gov. Cuomo said.

“By raising the smoking age from 18 to 21, we can stop cigarettes and e-cigarettes from getting into the hands of young people in the first place and prevent an entire generation of New Yorkers from forming costly and potentially deadly addictions.”

The smoking age in the city was raised to 21 in 2013 during the Bloomberg administration.

According to the U.S. surgeon general, 88% of adult smokers started using tobacco before age 18 and 90% of the people who buy cigarettes for minors are between the ages of 18 and 20.

Health officials and lawmakers believe raising the legal purchase age to 21 will prevent teens from obtaining tobacco products from their friends, reducing the likelihood they will start smoking and become addicted. The law goes into effect in 120 days.

The move comes as an increasing number of teens are using e-cigarettes and the state saw a slight bump in traditional cigarette use last year.

From 2014-18, teen use of e-cigarettes, which come in a variety of flavors, increased by 160%, according to the state Health Department.

More than half of teens falsely believe e-cig use is harmless.