Amanda Purcell is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media officials in Columbia County will too discuss whether to raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21. Proponents of the change hope the age hike will reduce the number of young people who smoke, thereby relieving some of the long-term health risks tobacco products can have on those who start smoking at a younger age. There is currently no official legislation on the table, but discussions are planned for the Health and Human Services Committee of the Columbia County Board of Supervisors, 1st Ward Supervisor Sarah Sterling said May 25. Sterling is a member of that committee. According to Judy Rightmyer, director of Capital District Tobacco Free Communities, the Tobacco 21 initiative has caught on statewide, with more than 13 million state residents, or 62 percent of the population, now living in areas where the legal age to purchase tobacco is 21. Albany and Schenectady counties have enacted similar legislation. The Ulster County Legislature recently passed Tobacco 21, and once signed by County Executive Mike Hein, it will go into effect Jan. 1, 2019. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.