New Castle Considers Raising Minimum Age to Buy Smoking Products
Having recently restricted where vape shops can operate, the New Castle Town Board is now considering raising the minimum age to purchase items related to smoking.
Town Attorney Nicholas Ward-Willis told the Town Board at its Dec. 11 work session that some municipalities in the state, such as North Hempstead on Long Island, have raised the minimum age to purchase smoking products from 18 to 21. Ward-Willis said he would research the topic to discuss at a January work session.
Supervisor Robert Greenstein said although state law mandates 18 as the minimum age to buy smoking products, including e-cigarettes and vaping liquids, the state allows municipalities the right to raise the age for those purchases.
Ward-Willis said if the board decides to move ahead with the change, the revised law would have to be enforced by the town.
In November, the Town Board passed legislation to permit vape shops only in business or industrial districts, but with stringent distance restrictions. The law prohibits vape shops within 2,000 feet of a lot line of any school and within 500 feet of a park, playground, library or religious institution. In addition, vape shops cannot be located within 1,000 feet of each other.
Officials defined those establishments as any retail outlet that devotes at least 25 percent of its retail space to the sale or distribution of electronic cigarettes or vape products.
Some municipalities in the area have been looking for ways to more effectively regulate vape shops after health experts have concluded that e-cigarettes and vape products can cause health issues. Those products were developed as a less harmful alternative to smoking cigarettes and using other tobacco products.
