NYC is at the forefront of smoking and tobacco control

To bring smoking rates in the city to historic lows, new laws signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio will:

Raise the minimum prices for all tobacco products

Reduce the number of tobacco retailers

Create a retail license for e-cigarettes

Increase the fee for a Cigarette Retail Dealer license

Require all residential buildings to create a smoking policy

Prohibit smoking in common areas of some buildings

Ban the sale of tobacco products at pharmacies

The goal of this legislation is to reduce the number of smokers in the city by 160,000 by 2020.

“If you are a smoker, the single most important thing you can do for your health is to stop smoking,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett. “As a former smoker, I know how hard it is to quit. That’s why these laws are so important – they will make it easier for New Yorkers to quit smoking or never start.”