New York Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a series of measures on Monday announcing a ‘war’ on smokers in the city.
The price of a pack of cigarettes will increase from $10.5 to $13 (80 kuna), meaning that New Yorkers will smoke the most expensive cigarettes in the United States.
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At the same time, the city plans to gradually halve the number of licensed cigarette sellers over the next ten years.
In 2002, there were 1.3 million smokers in New York, and a pack of cigarettes cost $6.5. Today, there are 900,000, and it is estimated that with the new measures, that number will drop by 160,000 in the next three years.
– Today we send you a clear message, you are not welcome in our city, said De Blasio at a press conference in Brooklyn.
The message was directed at the tobacco industry, which, in his opinion, continues to deceive consumers.
– We will not passively watch as those who should not be dying do die, he emphasized.
Non-smokers like the measure, but what about smokers?
– I will go to Jersey for cigarettes, they cost eight dollars there, said one among them.
