CALIFORNIA: State Senate Votes To Raise Cigarette Buying Age To 21

Via the Los Angeles Times:

The state Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would raise the minimum legal age for buying cigarettes and other tobacco products from 18 to 21 as part of an effort to reduce smoking by young people. Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) said he introduced the bill, SB 151, out of concern that an estimated 90% of tobacco users start before age 21. Raising the minimum age will mean that fewer teenagers pick up the habit, said Hernandez, an optometrist. He cited a study done by the Institute of Medicine for the federal Food and Drug Administration that concluded that raising the smoking age to 21 would cut smoking by 12% more than existing control policies. “It’s time to stop allowing tobacco companies to make the deadly product so readily available to our youth,’’ Hernandez said.

A similar age 21 requirement was approved by the Hawaii legislature in late April and awaits the governor's signature. Four states have set their cigarette purchasing age at 19: Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey, and Utah. New York City raised the buying age to 21 in late 2013.

Anti-Smoking PSA: Left Swipe Dat

Via USA Today:

"LEFT. SWIPE." Rejection. That's when the PSA goes from high school sitcom to what's-even-happening-what-is-this-magic music video. Get ready for anti-smoking lyrics, laser light shows and YouTube/pop stars Becky G, Fifth Harmony, King Bach, Grace Helbig, Harley Morenstein, Anna Akana, Jimmy Tatro, Alphacat, Terrence J and Timothy DeLaGhetto getting down to a shockingly catchy "Left Swipe Dat" beat. No meme stone goes unturned. There are trotting horses on the beach, someone riding a dolphin with a rainbow trail backset to a supernova and a bizarre lumberjack eating piles of food. There's enough neon, arrows, dance moves and "duck face" references that you could probably just skip Coachella this year.

The campaign is from the American Legacy Foundation, which was created with funding from the 1998 settlement between the tobacco industry and the feds.

2014 Word Of The Year: Vape

Via CBS News:

Of the many, many words that editors at Oxford Dictionaries review which have newly come into the language lexicon, only one has had enough of an influence in society to make it as 2014's International Word of the Year. This year it's "vape." The Oxford Dictionary defines it as follows: v. Inhale and exhale the vapour produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device, n. An electronic cigarette or similar device; an act of inhaling and exhaling the vapour produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device. Editors at Oxford found that use of the word has doubled in 2014 over the prior year. It can also be traced back to the explosion of the electronic cigarette industry which topped $1 billion in sales in 2013 according to Forbes.

This year's runners-up: bae, budtender, slacktivism.

CVS To Stop Selling Cigarettes

CVS Caremark, the nation's second largest drugstore chain with over 7600 locations, has announced that they will phase out all tobacco sales by the end of the year.

The company declined to say what will take tobacco's prominent shelf place behind cash registers at the front of its stores. CVS Caremark will test some items and may expand smoking cessation products that are already sold near cigarettes. CVS Caremark has been working to team up with hospital groups and doctor practices to help deliver and monitor patient care, and the presence of tobacco in its stores has made for some awkward conversations, CVS Chief Medical Officer Dr. Troyen A. Brennan said. "One of the first questions they ask us is, 'Well, if you're going to be part of the health care system, how can you continue to sell tobacco products?'" he said. "There's really no good answer to that at all."

President Obama has issued a statement which praises the company for the move, which is expected to cut annual sales by about $2B.

NYC To Ban E-Cigs In Public Places

Via press release:

Today – at the final meeting of the 2010-2013 legislative session– the City Council will vote to regulate electronic cigarettes, commonly known as “e-cigarettes,” by amending the Smoke-Free Air Act (SFAA) to prohibit the use of these devices in all areas where smoking is prohibited. One the City’s greatest achievements in combating the devastating effects of smoking is the Smoke-Free Air Act which bans smoking in public places, restaurants, bars and in private office buildings where people work. E-cigarettes threaten to undermine enforcement of the Smoke-Free Air Act because many brands are designed to look like cigarettes, and to be used just like them, which can lead to confusion and confrontation. Additionally, using e-cigarettes in places where smoking is permitted threatens to renormalize smoking in these places.

Earlier this month 200 e-cig users sat in on a City Council hearing on the issue and "vaped" for the entire session.

NEW YORK CITY: Cigarette Sales Banned For Those Under The Age Of 21

In what may be his final victory against smoking in New York City, yesterday Mayor Bloomberg applauded after the City Council approved a ban on the sale of tobacco products to people under the age of 21. 

Thomas Farley, the city’s health and mental hygiene commissioner, said the law, the Sensible Tobacco Enforcement Act, represents a "historic advance in our fight against New York City's leading killer." Bloomberg said the new age requirement will prevent more teenagers from developing a smoking habit, saving lives. Research shows that more than 80% of smokers in New York began lighting up before the age 21. When it is enacted, the new law would add one more component to Bloomberg’s legacy of anti-smoking and public health initiatives. Since he became mayor, the city has banned smoking in bars and restaurants and in public places, such as city beaches and parks. Aides say Bloomberg was convinced to raise the smoking age by data from London showing a major decline in youth smoking after that city raised its minimum age to 21.

RELATED: In addition to the above-cited measures, during his 12-year tenure Bloomberg also ushered in a series of tax hikes on cigarettes, which now retail at $13-$15 a pack at many locations. Those are the highest prices in the nation.

NYC-Based Realty Group Bans Smoking In Rented Apartments Nationwide

The Related Companies, a New York City-based real estate group with properties across the nation, has banned smoking in all 40,000 of its rental units.

Although the program will roll out gradually, it appears to be the first of this scale by a national property owner. It also seems likely to create controversy. Where past efforts against smoking have focused on public gathering places — like bars, stadiums and courthouses — Related is now trying to prohibit legal private behavior. Not that smokers will get kicked to the curb right away. New tenants must sign a contract promising not to smoke anywhere in the building, including their private terraces or balconies. If they break the rules, they can be evicted. But those already renting will not face the same fate until after they renew their leases and sign the no-smoking contract. With a turnover rate of 10,000 a year, Related’s apartments could conceivably be smoke-free in a few years’ time.

The New York Times notes that enforcement will most rely on neighbors narcing on each other. 

CDC Features Florida Lesbian Couple In Anti-Smoking Campaign Ad

Boston's Fenway Health applauded the campaign last month:

Tobacco use is one of the biggest health issues impacting the LGBT community,” said Scout, PhD, Director of the Network for LGBT Health Equity. “Right now it’s still historic to see LGBT inclusion in a national health media campaign. I hope other health agencies follow CDC’s lead and start to make it routine.” The ‘Tips From Former Smokers’ campaign will include ad buys tailored to populations that have smoking disparities, access to tobacco quitlines in multiple languages, and online materials customized for special populations. Expect to see the ads run on TV, radio, print, and online through June. During 2012, the Tips From Former Smokers campaign resulted in 200,000 additional quitline calls across the nation.

A supporting video has been posted on YouTube.

NY State May Raise Smoking Age To 21

Christine Quinn's plan to raise the smoking age in New York City is going statewide.

New York would become the first state to hike the age to buy cigarettes from 18 to 21 under new legislation announced Sunday. Officials moved to stop a cross-border bonanza in cigarette sales if a hike in the age proposed by the city last week goes through by extending the measure statewide. “Young people will go across the border,” said Sen. Diane Savino (D-Staten Island), who is sponsoring the state bill, adding that after the city bill was announced, “All of the cigarette sellers in the other counties said, ‘That’s great! You want to raise the age in New York City, they’ll just come to Nassau, they’ll come to Suffolk, they’ll come to Westchester, they’ll come to Rockland.”

The New York Association of Grocery Stores is opposing the bill.

NYC May Raise Smoking Age To 21

The New York City Council is expected to introduce an ordinance today that will raise the minimum age to purchase cigarettes to 21.  The new law, if approved, will give the city the highest such requirement in the nation.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn plans to announce the city’s latest anti-smoking measure Monday morning with Mayor Bloomberg’s Health Commissioner Thomas Farley.  The bill is a clear indication that Quinn, a leading mayoral candidate, would continue some of the controversial health laws that have been central to the Bloomberg administration if she’s elected mayor. It comes in the wake of a recent proposal by Bloomberg to force stores to keep tobacco products out of sight, behind the counter or in a drawer. The city banned smoking in restaurants and bars ten years ago, and has also banned smokes in parks and beaches. City smoking rates have dropped dramatically.

Via press release from Speaker Quinn:

“Too many adult smokers begin this deadly habit before age 21,” said Speaker Quinn. “By delaying our city’s children and young adults access to lethal tobacco products, we’re decreasing the likelihood they ever start smoking, and thus, creating a healthier city.” “When used as intended, tobacco kills one-third of the people who use it,” said Health Commissioner Farley. “By raising the legal purchase age to 21, we will prevent a generation of New Yorkers from becoming addicted to smoking and ultimately save thousands of lives.”

Nationwide the minimum age to buy cigarettes is 18, except in DC, Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey, and Utah, where it is 19.  Smoking rates have plummeted during Mayor Bloomberg's three terms and one study estimates that over 500,000 residents have abandoned the habit in the last decade.  About 7% of NYC's high school students smoke. Nationwide that rate is about 19%.