Cleveland ups cigarette smoking age from 18 to 21: Cleveland City Council passes city law sponsored by Councilman Cimperman that raises age limit from 18 to 21 to purchase cigarettes, and of which is contrary to the state law mandate of 18-years-old....Local business owners call for the mayor to veto the legislation....The new city law, says sources, pertains to vendors but will ultimately be amended to impose criminal penalties against the Black young people impacted where Blacks are disproportionately arrested, charged, criminally prosecuted, and convicted and jailed or imprisoned in the city of Cleveland, in Ohio, and nationwide....Cimperman says that the new city law will save lives....By Cleveland Urban News.Com Editor-in-Chief Kathy Wray Coleman
By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, Cleveland Urban News. Com and the Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog, Ohio's Most Read Online Black Newspaper and Newspaper Blog. Tel: 216-659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com . Coleman is a 23-year political, educational, legal and investigative journalist who trained for 17 years, and under six different editors, at the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio. Our news website and blog get more than 2.4 million viewers on Google Plus alone. ( www.clevelandurbannews.com ) / ( www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com ). Cleveland Ward 3 Councilman Joe Cimperman CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, CLEVELAND, Ohio- Led by Ward 3 Councilman Joe Cimperman, who is White and in 2008 ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for the congressional seat then held by veteran and former congressman Dennis Kucinich, Cleveland City Council, at its regular meeting Monday night, passed an ordinance to raise the age limit from 18 t