Bloomberg Wants to Raise the Smoking Age to 21

Fresh off the heels of his victory against carbonated-sugar-water terror, New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg is poised to intensify his war on cancer sticks.

The mayor and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn—a leading candidate to succeed Bloomberg—are expected to announce today that they'll seek a raise in the city's cigarette-buying age, to 21 from 18.

Few people are likely to oppose a new limit on young adults' access to carcinogenic cylinders of kitty-litter, but the measure is just the latest in a series of moves to effectively ban smoking in the city:

• 2002: Smoking in bars and restaurants gets nixed.

• 2011: Butts are banned in public places, including parks and beaches.

• March 2013: Bloomberg proposes new rules that would raise the minimum price of a pack of smokes to $10.50 and require stores to keep them out of sight.

In short, New York's march to tyranny continues apace. But at least everybody will march a lot easier with clean lungs. [WSJ; Image via BigStockPhoto]