ALBANY -- Advocates and state lawmakers this year are again making a push to change the smoking age to 21 in New York.
Efforts to raise the age from 18 to 21 failed in the state Legislature last year, but supporters rallied at the state Capitol again Monday pushing for the measure.
Cancer patients, survivors and their families and caregivers met with legislators to advocate for raising the age of cigarette and tobacco sales to 21 -- including electronic cigarettes.
“I know how dangerous it is, and I know how poisonous it is,” said Sen. Diane Savino, D- Staten Island, one of the bill's sponsors.
“I know we need to do something to make sure that we delay, however long as possible, young people getting access to cigarettes. So if that means raising it to 21, that’s what we have to do."
If passed, no one under the age of 21 would be allowed to buy tobacco products in New York.
It's unclear whether the measure will pass the Legislature before the session ends for the year in mid-June.
According to the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, about 95 percent of adult smokers began smoking before they were 21, and an estimated 28,200 New Yorkers will die because of smoking-attributed illnesses this year.
A recent poll conducted by the Global Strategy Group for supporters of the measure asked 800 New Yorkers about their thoughts of rising the age to purchase tobacco products.
The overwhelming majority of those polled supported the change.
“Our results confirm what we, and you, probably have already believed to be true for a long time,” said Kevin O’Flaherty, director of advocacy for Tobacco-Free Kids.
“New Yorkers not only feel strongly about the need to protect kids from tobacco addiction but they strongly support raising the age of sale for tobacco products to 21.”
There are currently 19 different areas around New York where it is already illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to purchase tobacco products.
Those include New York City, Cortland County, Orange County, Rockland County and Tompkins County.
Other counties, including Westchester, have also been considering the change.
Each year, over 50,000 people under 18-years-old will become regular smokers, according to the bill.
According to the U.S. Surgeon General's Office, 90 percent of people who buy cigarettes for minors are between 18 and 20 years old.
“We know how important it is to keep delaying when someone first picks up the habit,” said Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, D-Manhattan, who is one of the bill’s sponsors.
“Once you start the habit, it's very, very hard to quit.”