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U.S. NEWS Tuesday 2 april 2019

N.Y. state poised

to raise smoking

age from 18 to 21

By CHRIS CAROLA
Associated Press
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The Democrat-controlled New York
Senate passed legislation Monday putting the state a
step closer to joining seven others where the legal age
for buying cigarettes and electronic cigarettes has been
raised from 18 to 21.
The state Assembly, also controlled by Democrats, passed
its own legislation last month.
Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo also supports raising
the age to 21 for purchasing cigarettes and is expected
to sign the legislation. Once that happens, the new law
will take effect in 120 days.
“The lifelong health effects of tobacco cannot be over-
stated and in New York we are committed to doing ev-
erything in our power to keep tobacco products out of In this Dec. 27, 2018 file photo a grower attends to a crop of young marijuana plants in Gardena,
the hands of young people,” Cuomo said in a statement Calif. Associated Press
after the Senate passed the bill.
21. Seven states and hundreds of U.S. municipalities al- L.A. to tap tech to wipe out up
The measure will prohibit cigarette sales to anyone under
the minimum age for buying cigarettes in 15 counties and to 50,000 old pot convictions
ready have similar laws in place. In New York state, 21 is
New York City.
The Senate legislation is sponsored by Diane Savino, who LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los in a statement Monday. tage of the new law.
represents parts of Brooklyn and Staten Island. The mea- Angeles-area prosecutors San Joaquin County also A few months later, after
sure was sponsored in the Assembly by Linda Rosenthal, are joining other district at- announced their partner- managing to dismiss just
of Manhattan. torneys to use technology ship with the group to re- over 1,000 cases during the
Before her measure was brought to a vote, Savino told to wipe out or reduce as move up to 4,000 cases. painstaking work, Gascon
Senate colleagues how she began smoking at age 12, many as 50,000 old mari- But there was no easy way partnered with Code for
sneaking in a pack of cigarettes for herself when she was juana convictions years af- to identify an estimated America, a San Francisco
sent to a store near her family’s Queens home to buy ter California voters broad- 200,000 cases statewide. group that uses technology
smokes for her mother, father and grandfather. ly legalized the drug. Convicts had to file peti- to make government more
“No one thought there was anything wrong with a The county is working with tions on their own to get efficient.
12-year-old buying cigarettes,” said Savino, who no lon- the Code for America non- their records changed or Computer coders with
ger smokes. “Smoking will kill you if you start.” profit tech organization, hire lawyers for help with the group developed the
The move toward raising the legal age of purchase to which uses computer algo- the process. Clear My Record algorithm
21 in New York drew praise from anti-smoking advocates rithms to find eligible cases After partnering with the to quickly identify eligible
and tobacco industry lobbyists alike. that are otherwise hard group, San Francisco Dis- cases and automatically
Julie Hart of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action to identify in decades-old trict Attorney George Gas- fill out forms to file with the
Network called the move “a no-brainer” given national court documents. It comes con announced last month courts.
studies have shown 95 percent of smokers start before after San Francisco found that 9,300 cases dating to “When we do this right, we
they’re 21. success clearing convic- 1975 will be dropped or re- show that government can
“Our companies have long supported legislation to pre- tions, which other cities duced for free and in many make good on its promises,
vent underage access to tobacco products,” Altria, the and states nationwide said cases, without the con- especially for the hundreds
maker of Marlboro cigarettes and other tobacco prod- they will try to do. victs’ knowledge. of thousands who have
ucts, said in a statement.q “This collaboration will im- It began when his office been denied jobs, hous-
prove people’s lives by started sifting through thou- ing and other opportuni-
erasing the mistakes of their sands of criminal cases ties despite the passage of
past and hopefully lead last year to identify eligible laws intended to provide
them on a path to a better marijuana convictions after relief,” said Jennifer Pahlka,
future,” LA County District only 23 people who hired executive director of Code
Attorney Jackie Lacey said lawyers had taken advan- for America.q