De Blasio calls big tobacco New York’s public enemy #1 when it comes to health. Mayor sets up ambitious plan to cut smoking

Mayor Bill de Blasio called big tobacco New York’s public enemy number one when it comes to health and set out new measures as part of his ambitious plan to drive down the city’s smoking population.

New York City could be on its way of becoming a smoking free city if mayor Bill de Blasio has his way. The mayor announced a series of new measures that will help reduce the city’s smoking population by 160,000 over the next three years.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announce a series of legislative measures that will help cut down New York‘s smoking population by over 2 percent. The mayor intends to raise the minimum prices for all tobacco products, including cigarettes, and imposing a new 10% local tax on other tobacco products. Also, tobacco products will be banned from pharmacies.

Regarding pricing, de Blasio’s measure will raise the minimum price of cigarettes and little cigars to $13 a pack from $10.50 and  set a first-ever price floor and tax for other tobacco products, such as cigars, smokeless tobacco, loose tobacco and tobacco-containing shisha.

By increasing the cigarette price floor New York officials hope for a 6.4 percent decline in adult cigarette smoking, decreasing adult prevalence from 14.3 percent to 13.9 percent.

The bill also imposes a tax of 10 percent on other tobacco products for the first time, which is expected to generate revenue of $1 million annually dedicated for public housing.

“When it comes to New Yorker’s health, big tobacco is public enemy #1. These companies have used the same playbook for decades, and we can no longer sit by while the next generation becomes addicted,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Today, we are taking a stand against these companies to not only reduce smoking and tobacco usage in New York City, but also save lives.”

Other proposals will directly impact retailers as de Blasio wants to reduce through attrition the number of tobacco retailers citywide and create a retail license for e-cigarettes, and cap the number of e-cigarette retailers. Legislators think that by restricting access to retailers will make it easier for smokers to kick the habit.

“Easy access to tobacco retailers makes it hard for smokers to quit and has contributed to the recent rise of NYC youth using cigars and smokeless tobacco,” said Department of Consumer Affairs Commissioner Lorelei Salas. “By giving DCA the ability to license e-cigarettes and limit the number of retailers selling tobacco products, we can better enforce existing laws that help keep tobacco products out of the hands of minors and improve the health of all New Yorkers.”

Also, residential buildings will be required to create a smoking policy and disclose it to both current and prospective tenants.

Disclosure of a building’s policy on smoking will be required annually and if a building changes its policy at any time. If an owner fails to disclose the policy, he/she may face a $100 civil penalty. Tenants would not be fined for smoking in non-smoking areas of buildings.

The legislation was introduced by Council Members Corey Johnson, Brad Lander, Fernando Cabrera and Ritchie Torres, and the bills will be heard by the Health Committee on April 27.

“As a former smoker, I know how hard it is to quit,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett. “These bills will make less it likely that New Yorkers will start smoking and easier for New Yorkers who smoke to quit, helping thousands of people lead longer, healthier lives. I’m proud that New York City will once again be at the forefront of tobacco control in the country.”

Currently, there are an estimated of 900,000 smokers, including 15,000 youth in New York City while 174,000 adults and 42,000 adolescents are using e-cigarettes. The smoking rate in New York City was at 14.3 percent in 2015 and de Blasio estimates that the new measures will bring the numbers down to a 12 percent.