It appears that the city of Garfield, N.J. will be raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products from 19 to 21 at its April 14 meeting.

The proposal was introduced on March 24 when a group called the Global Advisors on Smoke-Free Policy gave a presentation to the city council on the matter. A report on NorthJersey.com called described adoption of the change to be expected.

Smoking in city parks and facilities has been in place since 2013, while an ordinance was passed in 2014 that limits all tobacco retailers to a zone on Route 46 and prohibited them from being located within 1,000 feet of a church or school.

Several cities in New Jersey have already raised the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21, including Bogota, Englewood, Sayreville and Teaneck. Princeton is also close to approving a similar age increase.

Garfield is home to just over 31,000 residents according to 2013 census estimates. It is located 12 miles west of New York City and ten miles north of Newark.

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.