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Bloomberg Continues Crusade Against Freedom

Michael Bloomberg / AP

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is at it again, this time trying to raise the age to legally buy cigarettes from 18 to 21.

Bloomberg, with the support of city council speaker Christine Quinn, officially proposed the legislation on Monday.

This is not the beginning of Bloomberg’s war against cigarettes in New York.

New York City has the highest combined state-local tax rate on cigarettes in the country at $5.85.

And Bloomberg has restricted the ability of stores to sell cigarettes at those exorbitant prices.

He proposed last month legislation that would force stores selling cigarettes to keep them completely hidden from consumers, except during a sale or while restocking.

Additionally, he proposed setting a price floor of $10.50 and restrictions that would make it illegal for coupons to be redeemed.

Bloomberg has already taken to restricting where individuals can smoke cigarettes, such as bans on smoking in parks and pedestrian plazas.

This means anybody smoking a cigarette anywhere in the 843-acre Central Park or in tourist-infested Times Square could face a $50 fine.

Although Mayor Bloomberg is fully committed to restricting the freedom of smokers in New York City, he is not opposed to making money off of the tobacco industry.

The Bloomberg Riskless Return Ranking just last year rated the MSCI World Tobacco Index as the safest investment over the previous decade.

There is no guarantee Bloomberg's latest proposal will go into effect, however.

Recently the New York Supreme Court struck down Bloomberg’s proposed ban on large sugary drinks, ruling the law was "arbitrary and capricious."

Bloomberg has already infringed on the freedom of New Yorkers to eat Little Italy’s famous Cannolis and cheaply order Chinese delivery.

Forcing college students to buy cigarettes illegally is just the latest in a long train of abuses.

Published under: Michael Bloomberg