NEW YORK CITY – Nearly every member of the New York City Council voted to approve upping the age for buying tobacco products from 18 to 21, the Associated Press reports. Mayor Michael Bloomberg had pushed for such a change earlier this year. The bill will become law in 180 days after he signs it.

Another proposal approved by the council is one that would put a $10.50 per pack minimum price on cigarettes. That bill would also increase enforcement of illegal sales of tobacco.

Cigarette makers countered that a higher tobacco buying age will only fuel the cigarette black market. “New York City already has the highest cigarette tax rate and the highest cigarette smuggling rate in the country,” said Bryan D. Hatchell , a spokesman for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. “Those go hand in hand and this new law will only make the problem worse.”

Only a few localities have as high tobacco buying ages. Needham, Mass., requires buyers to be 21, while Canton, Mass., will raise the tobacco purchase age to 21 on Jan. 1. Hawaii will vote on a similar measure next month, while New Jersey is debating raising the age as well.

But cigarette manufacturers have suggested young adult smokers may just turn to black-market merchants. And some smokers say it's unfair and patronizing to tell people considered mature enough to vote and serve in the military that they're not old enough to decide whether to smoke.