Golden, Brook-Krasny Want Shisha Loophole Shut
If Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny and Senator Marty Golden have their way, teenagers in New York State will no longer be able to buy water-pipes, herbal cigarettes, non-tobacco smoking blends and rolling papers.
The bill, if passed, would ban smoking herbs and paraphernalia for anyone under 18.
Depending how you look at it, this will either protect our virginal youth from the bubbling menace that is hookah, or just create a lucrative black market for ‘the older kids’.
From Senator Golden’s press release:
Councilman Vincent Gentile (D-Brooklyn) stated “I want to thank Assemblyman Brook-Krasny and Senator Golden for making sure a crucial part of combating smoking by minors gets addressed,” Councilman Gentile said. “While they’re not allowed to buy cigarettes, minors were not barred from purchasing non-tobacco smoking products until now. This law is an important part of making our approach to smoking consistent.”
The introduction of this legislation comes on the heels of other new regulations for hookah bars. Bans on both the smoking devices and bars themselves are being incorporated into existing anti-smoking statutes, affecting dozens of individual localities and university campuses nationwide.
The New York bill, if signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo, will take effect on January 1, 2012.