Nothing like a warm hot chocolate layered high with whipped cream on a cold New York day. Oops, you realized you don't have any more whipped cream. Make sure to grab your ID before heading to the corner store...
Store clerks around New York state are now asking shoppers to prove that they are 21+ years old when purchasing whipped cream.
A bill that became law on November 25, 2021 is causing some confusing among New York retailers. According to an October 2021 press release, this bill is meant to "[prohibit] the sale of whipped cream chargers, also known as ‘whippits, whippets, or whip-its’ to persons under the age of twenty-one".
The press release states that, "Whipped cream chargers are filled with nitrous oxide which is often referred to as ‘laughing gas’ and popularly used as an over-the-counter inhalant because of its euphoric effects. Dental professionals use the chemical during oral surgery to relieve pain but it is highly addictive and has detrimental effects if used improperly." Under this law, retailers caught selling whipped cream chargers would be fined $250 for the initial offense and up to $500 for each subsequent offense.
Now that this law is being enforced, it is causing much confusion among store owners.
NYS Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr., who introduced this bill, clarified the law in an August 29, 2022 tweet, stating that this law prohibits the sale of whipped cream chargers, the "steel cylinder or cartridge filled with nitrous oxide (N2O) that is used as a whipping agent in a whipped cream dispenser", NOT retail canned whipped cream that can be purchased at any market.
He also clarifies his reasoning for introducing the bill in this tweet: "the empty chargers or cartridges could be found littered in areas of my district and many other communities around the state, and people have called my office directly to ask me to do something about this issue. Since the law went into effect there have been less sightings of the discarded whippit chargers or cartridges in the streets of my district".
It is too soon to say whether Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr.'s tweet clarifying the law has ceased the issue of people being required to show ID to purchase regular canned whipped cream. So, if you're in New York state and plan on buying whipped cream anytime soon, bring identification just in case!
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