FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 25, 2000
| Contact: | Sunny Mindel/Edward Skyler (212) 788-2958 |
The first bill before me today is Introductory Number 727, sponsored by Speaker Vallone and Council Member Koslowitz in conjunction with my Administration. This bill closes a loophole in the City's 1992 Tobacco Product Regulation Act by banning the sale of herbal cigarettes to minors.
The Tobacco Product Regulation Act is intended to protect minors from the dangers of smoking by banning the sale of tobacco products to individuals under 18 years of age. Earlier this year, in conjunction with the Council, I took additional steps to protect children from tobacco by signing Local Law 2, which significantly enhances the City's enforcement capabilities by mandating that tobacco retailers lose their licenses to sell cigarettes if they violate the law twice. However, current law does not outlaw the sale of non-tobacco cigarettes to minors.
Tobacco-free, or herbal cigarettes, have recently become popular among young people. The brand names and packaging used to sell herbal cigarettes are designed to appeal to youth, the population that is supposed to be protected by the Tobacco Product Regulation Act. Instead of tobacco, herbal cigarettes contain ingredients such as passionflower, ginseng or marshmallow. However, despite the absence of tobacco, herbal cigarettes pose many of the same health threats as regular cigarettes. Smoking them results in the inhalation of carbon monoxide, tar and other cancer-causing agents. Perhaps worst of all, smoking herbal cigarettes provides a lawful gateway for young people to embark on a lifetime of cigarette addiction.
Therefore, given the danger of herbal cigarettes, my Administration worked closely with the Speaker and Council Member Koslowitz to craft the legislation before me today banning the sale of herbal cigarettes to minors.
Any person found in violation of this new law will be liable for a civil penalty of at least $250 but not more than $2,000. The law will be enforced jointly by the Department of Consumer Affairs and the Department of Health. The law will also grant the Commissioner of Consumer Affairs the power to deny, refuse to renew, suspend or revoke a license to sell retail cigarettes if an applicant or license holder sells herbal cigarettes to minors.
This bill marks the second time this year that the Council and I have collaborated to ensure that the City does everything possible to protect young people from cigarette addiction. Working together, we have given the City of New York some of the toughest and most comprehensive cigarette-sale regulations in the nation.
For the reasons previously stated, I will now sign the bill.
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