Joseph Vitale

VITALE STATEMENT ON INCREASING AGE FROM 18 TO 19 TO BUY CIGARETTES

Senator Says Added Year May Dissuade Smokers from Starting

Senator Joseph F. Vitale, D-Middlesex, the Chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee, issued the following statement regarding Committee approval, by a vote of 6-0 with one abstention, of a bill he sponsored with Governor Codey to increase the age at which vendors can legally sell cigarettes from 18 to 19:

"The most sure-fire way to avoid any one of the myriad of health risks attached to smoking is never to start.

"The logic is flawless, but so many of our State's kids cannot see past the peer pressure of high school to realize just what a risk they'd be taking by lighting up. They only know that on the school yard, the 'cool kids' are the ones who smoke.

Revised - Two Major Codey Initiatives Clear Senate Committees
Legislation Will Protect Teens, Motorists

TWO MAJOR CODEY INITIATIVES CLEAR SENATE COMMITTEES

Legislation Will Protect Teens, Motorists

(TRENTON) – Acting Governor Richard J. Codey today applauded two Senate committees for advancing bills that will help safeguard teens from the dangers of smoking and protect the welfare of motorists, two major initiatives that Codey has sponsored in the Senate.

KARCHER ANNOUNCES CHILDHOOD MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM REFORMS

At a news conference today in the Statehouse, State Senator Ellen Karcher revealed a reform plan today for New Jersey's childhood mental health system, which she said was "in need of major improvements."

VITALE: CHILD WELFARE REPORT SHOWS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

Senate Health Chair Says Child Welfare Reform Efforts Not Living Up to Expectations

Senator Joseph F. Vitale, D-Middlesex, the Chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee, issued the following statement today regarding the New Jersey Child Welfare Panel's release of its most recent Monitoring Report:

SENATE DEMOCRATS CRACK DOWN ON GASOLINE PRICE GOUGERS

Three leading Senate Democrats have introduced legislation to crack down on gasoline price gouging by imposing stiff fines on greedy service station owners and the unscrupulous wholesalers who jack up their gas prices multiple times daily.

CODEY INTRODUCES SMOKE-FREE YOUTH INITIATIVE BILL TODAY
Legislation Would Raise Tobacco Purchasing Age to 19

Acting Governor Richard J. Codey today introduced the SmokeFree Youth Initiative bill, which is geared towards keeping tobacco out of the hands of young people and preventing them from developing the dangerous habit of smoking. The legislation, which Senator Joseph F. Vitale (D-Middlesex) has signed on to co-sponsor, would make New Jersey just the fourth state in the nation, and the first in the Northeast, to raise the legal age for purchasing tobacco from 18- to 19-years old.