Bloomberg Wins Latest Battle, Smoking Age Now 21

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has signed legislation that will raise the age to buy cigarettes to 21 and older, but a new report says tobacco companies are still marketing their product to teens.

The New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) has released “Overexposed.” The not-for-profit advocacy organization surveyed three neighborhoods in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens and observed the number of tobacco advertisements in the area.

Megan Ahearn, NYPIRG program coordinator, said the data from the report shows that tobacco companies are finding ways to market their products effectively, even with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cracking down on cigarette ads.

“There’s no more of the large billboards or tobacco commercials on TV,” said Ahearn. “What we’re seeing is now these advertisements are coming in on store corners in the large four feet high from the ground to above-your-waist signs, like mini-billboards.”

Ahearn adds that hanging signs from the ceiling or on walls near the register and placing the products near popular items such as candy and magazines targets young consumers.

Congress and the FDA have placed stricter regulations on the tobacco industry’s advertisements. In 2010, the Tobacco Control Act banned cigarette companies from sponsoring sporting and entertainment events. The legislation also limited how tobacco companies make advertisements. For example, audio ads can no longer use music or sound effects.

The New York Public Interest Research Group’s report surveyed a neighborhood in Tremont less than a mile away from the Fordham University Rose Hill Campus and found 12 corner stores with marketing on the exterior of their shops.

Ahearn said New York City leaders should step up to keep tobacco marketing away from teens.

“One thing that NYPIRG is hoping to happen in New York City is looking to reduce marketing around schools, where students are walking every single day,” said Ahearn.

She adds that stores could keep the products hidden behind the counter, possibly covered by a curtain, so teenagers do not see them when visiting local businesses. When Bloomberg crafted the bill that eventually raised the age to buy cigarettes to 21 and up, he pushed to have tobacco hidden so children and teens would not be exposed to the products.

Bloomberg wound up dropping that part of the legislation after heavy lobbying from a tobacco industry-backed organization. According to The New York Times, the Save Our Store coalition argued that keeping cigarettes in a hidden location would cost the city jobs and hurt businesses.

Sheelah Feinberg, executive director of the New York City Coalition for a Smoke Free City, said tobacco marketing inside stores can influence teens to smoke tobacco products.

“Right now, when you walk into a convenience store or a drugstore you are bombarded with the [tobacco] products and the marketing of it as well,” said Feinberg. “If you see an image long enough, it creeps into your mind, and that starts to seem interesting.”

According to the NYC Coalition for a Smoke Free City, 18,000 high school students currently smoke cigarettes, and one-third of them will die prematurely as a direct result of tobacco usage.

Feinberg said that raising the price of cigarettes is an enforcement mechanism that successfully prevents teens from purchasing.

“[The NYC Coalition for a Smoke Free City has] learned that price increases really deter youth smoking because, quite simply, it’s hard to afford cigarettes when it’s $10.50,” she said.

The City Council has recently enacted a law that will set a minimum price for a pack of cigarettes or cigarillos to $10.50 per pack. In 2010, New York passed a tax on cigarettes to make the Empire State the most expensive place to buy a pack.

NYC Cab Drivers Sign Petition to End Mandatory Fare Tax

Thousands of yellow cab drivers have signed a petition against a mandatory tax that charges them six cents per fare.

The fee mandated by the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission will go towards a “disability insurance and health-care navigation services” fund. The money is meant to help taxi drivers get healthcare and disability coverage as required by the Affordable Care Act, but full-time driver Warmann DiPoumbu said cab owners still don’t know what that really means. 

“We don’t know where the money is going, and we don’t know on what purpose,” said DiPoumbu. “We have not been explicitly well-advised to that account.”

Taxi drivers, like DiPoumbu, argue the money collected from this fare tax is unnecessary because the New York State Department of Health has already set aside $13.25 million for all five city boroughs to fund identical navigation services.

According to documents provided by a spokesperson for the petitioners, “Rather than setting aside money for actual health insurance premium, the vast majority of funds are to be distributed to navigation services that are already budgeted for under the Affordable Care Act. This is a formula for immense potential insurance fraud.”

“The goal from this petition is to hold the city accountable and [to have] this tax revised,” added DiPoumbu, who said he signed the petition Wednesday morning. 

The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission did not respond to our request for comment. 

Report Shows Tobacco Advertisements Near New York City Schools

 

A Hotspot for Tourism in the Bronx

Many Fordham University students have tasted a cream-stuffed cannoli from DeLillo Café & Pastry Shop or wrapped their hands around a grinder from Tino’s Delicatessen, but now some tourists may find themselves enjoying the culture right outside the Rose Hill campus as well.

NYC & Company, the official marketing, tourism and partnership organization of the Big Apple, is launching a campaign that aims to bring foreigners to the northern Bronx.

Emily Mayrath, director of communications for NYC & Company, said the initiative showcases areas that tourists may overlook.

“[NYC & Company] is marketing neighborhoods that sometimes might be overlooked by visitors,” said Mayrath. “Our goal is to really inspire [tourists] to sample these ‘live like a local’ experiences.”

The campaign is part of the group’s “Neighborhood x Neighborhood” program that was launched in March.

The initiative has previously highlighted other areas in the city, including Brooklyn’s Coney Island and Queens’s Long Island City.

Mayrath said Fordham Road and Arthur Avenue were recently selected because of the authentic Italian cuisine and attractions such as the Bronx Zoo, Botanical Gardens and Edgar Allen Poe Cottage.

“We try to pick places that are close and convenient to public transportation, and [we] try to choose areas that can be successful,” said Mayrath.

The organization has promoted the Bronx neighborhood at the World Travel Market in London, England. According to NYC & Company, the UK has the most overseas visitors to New York City, with 1,033,000 stopping by last year.

Ross Garlick, GSB’15, calls the United Kingdom home as a native of Manchester, England, and said he had no idea what Arthur Avenue or Fordham Road was when he accepted the invitation to become a Ram.

“I knew nothing, actually nothing about Arthur Avenue,” said Garlick. “It was only when I met my roommate and then we explored Arthur Avenue and the cool places in the area.”

The Englishman has spent two years in the Bronx.

Garlick said when friends from home come to town he shows them the major landmarks in Manhattan, but enjoys taking them to nearby places on Arthur Avenue.

“They don’t have the Bronx Beer Hall in England or Italy. British tourists — we love our karaoke,” Garlick said. “I have taken a few English people to the Beer Hall and they loved it.”

The 22-year-old went to New York City once with his family before coming to Fordham University’s Rose Hill campus.

During the visit, he never left Manhattan.

“We went to Times Square, Fifth Avenue, Rockefeller Center,” said Garlick. “It was honestly a very touristy type of trip.”

Mayrath said the “Neighborhood x Neighborhood” campaign targets those tourists who have already come and seen the traditional New York City destinations.

“This program is for New Yorkers and [other] visitors, but really we launched it with the mindset for repeat visitors,” said Mayrath. “The UK is our number one overseas market so we are promoting this initiative because they come so often they want to see something new and different and feel like a local and travel like a local.”

When the “Neighborhood x Neighborhood” campaign was launched in March, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the program could help boost economic development in the outer boroughs.

“Visitors to New York City should know that in every borough of our great city, there are neighborhoods with great restaurants, shops and cultural institutions,” said Mayor Bloomberg.

Some of the places NYC & Company is promoting in the Fordham neighborhood happen to include the Arthur Avenue Retail Market, Zero Otto Nove and Dr. Jay’s.