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New York to raise cigarette sale age to 21

New York City Council has voted to raise the minimum age for buying cigarettes from 18 to 21.


New York City Council has voted to raise the minimum age for buying cigarettes from 18 to 21.

New York will become the largest city in the US to impose such a high age limit. The limit, which includes electronic cigarettes, aims to stop young people developing smoking habits.

Across the US there is a minimum age for smoking of 18. Some states have raised the limit to 19 and at least two other towns have raised it to 21.

The European Union recommends the smoking age limit of 18. Currently 22 of the 28 states have applied this limit. The limit remains at 16 in Austria, Malta, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

The move, supported by New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, will come into effect in 180 days.

 Mr Bloomberg was awarded the ELF Award in 2008 for his dedication to combatting tobacco use, by improving anti-smoking education and making more places smoke free.

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