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New York City Council Passes Bill To Raise Cigarette Pack Price To $13, Ban Sale In Pharmacies

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The New York City Council on Wednesday passed a bill that will raise the minimum price of a pack of cigarettes to $13 and ban their sale in pharmacies.

CBS2 confirmed the City Council passed the bill that will raise the minimum permitted price to $13 from its current $10.50.

In addition to forbidding the sale of cigarettes in drugstores, the bill also calls for cutting the number of retailers licensed to sell tobacco products in half over the next 10 years. The New York Daily News reported there are about 9,000 such retailers now.

Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled the legislation with City Council members in April and is expected to sign it, the newspaper reported.

Nine City Council members voted against the bill on the grounds that it would hit low-income New Yorkers who have not been able to quit smoking the hardest, the newspaper reported. The NY Association of Convenience Stores also came out against the bill, the paper reported.

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