New York stores may begin checking IDs for the purchase of whipped cream as the canisters have been banned for anyone under 21. The bill was passed last year in an effort to stop teenagers from inhaling the nitrous oxide used as a propellant in the cans.
While inhaling nitrous oxide can bring about feelings of euphoria, relaxation, and calmness, it can also cause loss of blood pressure, fainting, heart attack, and sudden death.
Democratic state Sen. Joseph Addabbo sponsored the bill banning the sale of the whipped cream cannisters to those under 21, last year.
“This new law is an important step in [combating] a significant problem for many neighborhoods throughout my district,” Addabbo said last fall. “The need to limit the access and sale of [whippets] first became apparent [to me] after [I had been] receiving constituent complaints about empty canisters on neighborhood streets. Used [whippets] piling up in our communities are not only an eyesore but also indicative of a significant nitrous oxide abuse problem.”
Kent Sopris, the president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores, voiced his displeasure with the bill in a statement, according to NBC News: "Requiring age verification when purchasing whipped cream is another classic compliance burden placed on convenience stores in New York State. We hear constantly how important small businesses are to New York politicians but quite frankly laws like this prove otherwise."
Addabbo has responded to the backlash to the announcement, clarifying to The New York Times that the bill is not intended as an outright ban on the sale of whipped cream, but instead, the sale of the chargers used to dispense the topping.
“Are you kidding me?” he said. “What elected official would do that? It’s so silly.”
“I thought the language was clear,” Addabbo added.
A spokesperson for the supermarket chain, Price Chopper, told the Times Union that the stores will begin checking IDs for the purchase of whipped cream on September 1.
[Via]
