L.L. 2017/145
Enactment date: 8/28/2017
Int. No. 1544-B
By Council Members Johnson, Mendez, Rosenthal, Lander, Cohen, Barron and Maisel
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the regulation of retail dealers of tobacco products and of electronic cigarettes, the establishment of price floors and minimum package sizes for tobacco products and shisha, and the establishment of a tax on tobacco products other than cigarettes
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Legislative findings. The Council hereby finds that tobacco use is a leading cause of premature, preventable death in the City, killing an estimated 12,000 people in 2014. All tobacco products-including cigars, smokeless tobacco, tobacco containing shisha and others-are inherently dangerous, and contain nicotine, which is addictive. Health impacts associated with tobacco use include cancer, heart disease, lung disease, and other serious adverse health effects. While the prevalence of youth cigarette smoking in the City, 5.8% in 2015, has declined in recent years, a greater proportion of youth are using other tobacco products (OTP) like cigars, waterpipes (hookahs), and smokeless tobacco. Cigar and smokeless tobacco use increased as a proportion of youth tobacco use from 2007 to 2015. In 2015, youth cigarette smoking and cigar smoking were roughly equal at 5.8% and 5.7%, respectively. Hookah smoking and smokeless tobacco use among NYC youth have also increased in recent years. Between 2008 and 2014, the percentage of middle school students in NYC who had ever smoked hookah increased from 2.9% to 8.5%. In 2014, 16.1% of high school students in the City had smoked hookah. Smokeless tobacco use among NYC youth increased from 2.2% in 2007 to 3.1% in 2015.
According to the World Health Organization, tobacco taxes are the single most effective way to decrease consumption and encourage tobacco users to quit. Taxation reduces tobacco use by reducing youth initiation, encouraging tobacco users to quit, and reducing consumption among those who do not quit. Minimum prices that increase prices for tobacco products have a comparable impact on tobacco consumption as taxes. Given relatively high levels of taxation on cigarettes at the federal, state, and local levels, OTP is generally less expensive than cigarettes, increasing its attractiveness as a cheaper alternative.
The Council hereby declares that the enactment of this law is necessary to reduce the prevalence of OTP use, particularly among youth. The Public Housing Law authorizes the City to impose a tax on OTP of up to 10% of the purchase price, and revenue generated from the tax must support public housing. This law creates a price floor (or minimum price) for specific categories of OTP (including cigars, little cigars, smokeless tobacco, loose tobacco, and shisha) and sets the OTP tax at 10% of the price floor for each OTP category. Price floors provide a mechanism for making the OTP tax consistent for each product category, thereby facilitating the administration of the tax. Price floors also elevate prices on low-priced tobacco products, further advancing this law's public health goals. This tax will improve public health and simultaneously provide a source of revenue for the New York City Housing Authority.
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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]
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§ 23. This local law takes effect on the first day of the calendar month next following the 270th day after it becomes law, provided that subdivision b of section 17-704.1 of the administrative code of the city of New York, as added by section eighteen of this local law, takes effect 150 days after it becomes law, except that the department of finance, the department of health and mental hygiene and the department of consumer affairs may take such measures as are necessary for the implementation of this local law, including the promulgation of rules, prior to such date.