New York City aims to ban cigarette sales for under age 21 New York City, home to bans on trans fats and salt, is taking a step toward outlawing sales of cigarettes to anyone under age 21. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, running to replace health conscious Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is due on Monday to announce legislation to increase the minimum age for buying cigarettes to 21 from 18, the current limit. On nearby Long Island, Nassau and Suffolk counties have boosted their legal age for buying cigarettes and other tobacco products to 19.