Oneida Common Council considers banning minors from possessing tobacco

The Oneida Common Council will weigh the possibility of adopting a local ordinance to prohibit the use and possession of tobacco products by minors, a local law that other New York municipalities have enacted.

While New York state law does not allow minors to purchase tobacco products, it is not illegal for them to use or possess them. The local law would authorize police agencies to seize tobacco products from children under 18 years of age. Minors in violation of the ordinance would not be arrested or charged and could petition the court for the return of the confiscated tobacco if they could prove it was taken unjustly.

The council will hear from Joseph Wicks, from the Tobacco Control Program, and Abigail Simchik, a prevention specialist with BRiDGES, about the proposed local law at its meeting tonight.

Mayor Leo Matzke said the anti-smoking measure is an extenuation of the no smoking policy initiated in the city’s parks by a group of teenagers.

“They would like to see it done in other areas,” he said, namely “Cancer Corner” at the high school. “They’d like to see no smoking there because of its influence on little children as they go by and on school buses. It has an impact on some of the little ones — not all, but some.”

Unsure what action the council will take to enact the proposed local law, Matzke said his main concern is smoking’s impact on children.

“If an adult smokes, that’s fine, that’s their choice, but when they’re younger, I just think that smoking is a very unhealthy habit,” he said. “As a community, we need to be concerned about that.”

Two local laws adopted by other municipalities were used as a template for Oneida. The City of Salamanca in the southwestern part of the state enacted a similar law prohibiting minors from using tobacco.

Salamanca Police Chief Troy Westfall said the law has helped law enforcement “so we can take cigarettes out of the hands of juveniles.”

It’s frustrating for police officers to patrol the streets and “see 13 and 14-year-olds on a street corner huffing and puffing,” he said. “It’s not a good thing. Maybe a parent can make that decision for a child, but I don’t think that’s right.”