Not even one week after talks were in the works in New York City to raise the age required to legally purchase cigarettes and other tobacco products to 21, New York State is mulling a change in law as well.

On Sunday, state senator Diane Savino and assemblywomen Linda Rosenthal jointly announced that the State government would pursue an increase in minimum age.

Christine Quinn, who introduced legislation in New York City last week applauded the action in an interview with WCBS 880 Radio.

"When we introduced our bill last Monday and began talking about it, I knew New York was a leader in public health and I knew that what we do gets watched by the state and the nation," said Quinn. "But I no idea that in less than a week's time we would already see legislation introduced in Albany."

During the press conference on Sunday, the government officials mentioned that statistics showed that 90 percent of people buying cigarettes for minors are between 18 and 20 years old and that 88 percent of adult smokers today begin before they are 19 years of age.

"By raising the minimum age to legally purchase tobacco products in New York City from 18 to 21, the same age it is to start drinking, we could potentially reduce the smoking rate among 18- to 20-year-olds by 55 percent and reduce the smoking rate among 14- to 17-year-olds by two-thirds," Quinn, who was also at the Sunday press conference said.

If the measure passes, New York State would be the first state with a tobacco product buying age of 21; other states such as Texas have had similar laws become trapped in limbo.

New York City is swiftly looking to put this into law and will have a hearing on the proposal to raise the minimum age to 21 on May 2.