The Politics of Smoking

There may be fewer smokers crowding The New School’s entrances this year due to a new law that raises the minimum age for buying cigarettes in New York City to 21 – and not everyone is happy about it.

“It’s rubbish,” said Kat Rickard, a Lang junior from Liverpool, England. “At 18 you should be old enough to be considered an adult by the government.”

The law passed the New York City Council in late October 2013, raising the legal age for buying cigarettes and most tobacco-related products from 18 to 21, effective starting this April. The bill was proposed by former City Councilman James Gennaro and was signed into law a month later by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, on November 19.

The City Council is responsible for proposing and changing many of the laws that directly affect the lives and personal freedoms of New Yorkers. But many of those affected by the laws that are passed by elected representatives never voted for those politicians, or even know who they are.

In a survey posted through the Free Press’ Facebook, of 63 New York college students, 44 percent were registered to vote in New York, and 33 percent were cigarette smokers. Only 12 people of those polled claimed to know who their local city council member was.

“I’ve lived here for over three years but I’m still registered as a California voter,” said Aron Canter, a Theatre and History major at Lang.

Voting has always had tenuous place in American history. While reformers of the past struggled fervently to legalize suffrage for all people, voting, across all age demographics, has been on the steady decline since 1960, a report from the U.S Census Bureau showed.

Ramon Rodriguez, a smoker and student at The New School, born and raised in New York City, said that he was not registered to vote.

“I feel like no really big election has happened since I’ve been able to vote,” he said. “I don’t really care for small government and never felt any agency when it came to voting.”

Rodriguez did say that he planned on voting in the next presidential election.

The law was motivated by the desire to decrease the amount of young people smoking cigarettes. Throughout his career, former Mayor Bloomberg made it a point to promote a “smoke-free” New York.

“We know that tobacco dependence can begin very soon after a young person first tries smoking, so it’s critical that we stop young people from smoking before they ever start,” Bloomberg said in a statement released to the press by his office after the City Council’s vote.

Nick Krebs, who works for the Office of Student Development and Activities (OSDA) at The New School, explained voter outreach efforts at the university. Between the third week of September and the second week of October, tables are set up across campus with voter registration forms and information on the vast and diverse selection of political parties, candidates and the voting process. OSDA typically sets up debate watching parties for bigger presidential elections, but Krebs said that student interest is low for local politics — even when it comes to something as dear to students as their cigarettes.

“One of the things that deters people from voting is that it is very complicated,” Krebs told the Free Press. “A lot of what we do is informing.”

New York has one of the lowest voting rates at the country — only 24 percent of eligible voters voted in the last mayoral election, but Krebs is trying to change that, at least among students.

Krebs also pointed out that there is more people can do than just vote.

“Voting is an important part of the law-making process but it is not the only one,” Krebs said. He encouraged students to find out who their local council member is and to petition them for the changes they wish to see. “I would encourage students not only to register, but to get involved.”