NPR Estados UNidos, 1 de mayo de 2013

Tomado de:
http://www.npr.org/2013/05/02/180369084/new-york-tobacco-regulations-light-up-public-health-debate
New York Tobacco Regulations Light Up Public Health Debate

If you're under 21, you may soon have a hard time lighting up in New York City. Public health officials in New York want to raise the minimum age for buying cigarettes.

The initiative is one of three proposed tobacco regulations the City Council will debate at a hearing Thursday afternoon.

"We think if we can prevent people from taking up the habit before they're 21, we might just be able to prevent them from taking it up at all," says New York Health Commissioner Thomas Farley.

City officials say 80 percent of smokers in New York start before they are 21.

New York already has some of the toughest anti-smoking laws in the country. Smoking rates in the city have fallen dramatically as it has banned smoking in bars, restaurants, parks and beaches. But the city's teenage smoking rate has held steady for several years at roughly 8.5 percent.

City officials are also considering a second bill that would prevent retailers in New York fromdisplaying cigarettes behind the register.