The Mid-Hudson News Network is reporting Dutchess County officials are considering a proposal to raise the minimum age for purchasing tobacco in the county to 21. Board of Health member Dr. William Barrick told the county Legislature’s Government Services and Administration Committee statistics on smoking-related deaths are staggering. “There are over 1,000 deaths per year in Dutchess County from complications related to smoking,” Barrick said. “Smoking is the number one risk factor for the top four out of five causes of death in Dutchess County,...” Arlington School District Superintendent Brendan Lyons cited a 2015 Institute of Medicine report saying that raising the age to 21 would "...significantly reduce the number of teens and young adults who start smoking and also change the cultural norms around the acceptability of smoking.” The speakers who addressed the committee opposed any amendment that would exempt military personnel from the law. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.