Nearly 200 retailers have lost their right to sell tobacco products after allowing underage kids to buy cigarettes, it was announced yesterday.
Mayor Bloomberg and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jonathan Mintz released a list of 195 shops and newsstands that were caught twice in sting operations over the last two years selling to minors, giving the city the right to yank their tobacco licenses for at least a year.
The release of the data provided an opportunity for Bloomberg and Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden to boast that only 11 percent of kids here smoke, compared with 23 percent nationally.
“Maybe it’s because New York City kids are smarter,” said Frieden.