NYC mayor announces major cigarette price hike

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday signed legislation that increases the minimum price for a pack of cigarettes to $13 and reduces the number of places where it can be sold.

"It's very cynical; it's all about greed," de Blasio said of Big Tobacco he called "public enemy No. 1" during a signing ceremony at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn.

"We have these major international corporations that clearly know better, but to make a buck they are looking to hook a whole new generation of young people on tobacco products and we have to stop them," he said.

The price hike from $10.50 to $13 gives New York City the highest price in the country, the mayor said.

One of the bills prohibits pharmacies, including grocery store/pharmacy chains from selling cigarettes.

"A place where you go for health care should not be selling you deadly products," de Blasio said.

An additional bill introduces a 10 percent tax on tobacco products other than cigarettes, ensuring that prices rise across the board regardless of the type of smoking.

The measures, which take effect June 1, 2018, aim to cut the number of smokers in the city by 160,000 in three years.

There are more than 950,000 smokers in New York, or 14.3 percent of the city's population, according to the nonprofit Public Health Solutions.

The health organization -- one of the largest in the city -- says that annual health care costs in the state directly caused by smoking is $10.39 billion.