HOBOKEN AND BEYOND -- Hoboken-based Assemblyman Ruben Ramos plans to sponsor legislation in the state Assembly to move the age of buying tobacco products from 19 to 21. He joined lawmakers in New York City on Thursday to announce the initiative, as the New York City Council recently introduced such a law.

"We all know that most adults who smoke now had their first cigarettes as teenagers," Ramos was quoted as saying in published articles. "It is my belief that passing this law will discourage people from smoking that first cigarette, saving them their health, their money, and maybe even their lives.”

Ramos is running for mayor in Hoboken in November, and would have to give up the Assembly job if he wins.