Bloomberg announced today that he plans to pursue more pipe-dream regulatory action in New York City. He plans to pursue a tobacco product display ban, along with legislation that would enforce the measure. This after a judge struck down Bloomberg’s large sugary-drink ban, calling it “arbitrary and capricious.”

I’m no lawyer, but that sounds like legal lingo for some less-respectful adjectives.

You can read the full announcement below. Basically, tobacco sellers will now have to keep tobacco products out of sight from, you guessed it, their customers.

Aside from the specifics of this or that regulation, New York is becoming a pretty suffocating place to live. But I guess that’s life in a democracy: the majority are duped or tempted into more state control, while the “forgotten third man” (in Bloomberg’s case, anyone who wants to enjoy life) takes the bill.

Citizens of New York City, hear this: there will always be another regulation around the corner to “make life better/safer/cleaner/greener/insert adjective here,” and sooner or later, it will hurt you.

As C.S. Lewis wisely observed,

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”

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NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced new legislation, the “Tobacco Product Display Restriction” bill, which would make New York City the first in the nation to keep tobacco products out of sight in retail stores.

Under the new legislation, sellers would be required to keep tobacco products out of sight, except during a purchase by an adult consumer or during restocking: tobacco products would be required to be kept in cabinets, drawers, under the counter, behind a curtain or in any other concealed location.

The bill does not impact advertising for sellers.

A second bill, “Sensible Tobacco Enforcement,” is comprised of policies that will combat illegal cigarette smuggling, said Bloomberg.

The Sensible Tobacco Enforcement bill increases penalties for retailers who evade tobacco taxes or sell tobacco without a license; prohibits retailers from redeeming coupons or honoring other price discounts for tobacco products; creates a minimum price for cigarettes and little cigars, at $10.50 per pack; requires that cheap cigars and cigarillos be sold in packages of at least four, and little cigars be sold in packages of at least 20.

Cigars that cost more than $3 each are exempt from the packaging rule.

It also gives the Department of Finance the authority to seal premises of tobacco sellers that have had repeated violations of the law.

The bills will be introduced at the request of the mayor by Council Member Maria del Carmen Arroyo, chair of the Health Committee, on Wednesday.

Watch for details on CSPnet.com and in CSP Daily News.