On Tuesday, the Westchester County Board of Legislators voted 16-1 to raise the age limit for the sale of tobacco and tobacco alternative products from 18 to 21, a move that lawmakers believe will dramatically reduce the number of new smokers and the likelihood of new addictions to vaping products.

The measure now goes to County Executive George Latimer for his signature, with the increase to go into effect 60 days following his approval.

This is the third time in four years that the legislature has considered such an increase, as previous attempts in 2014 and 2017 both fell short of passage. Westchester joins a number of other counties in the state to pass such an increase, including Cattaraugus, Schenectady, Onondaga and Suffolk, as well as New York City.

Westchester County is home to approximately 980,000 residents and is located on the southern tip of New York State.

Update (June 6, 2018) — County Executive George Lattimer signed the increase today. This story was originally published on June 4.

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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.