Somerville became the first municipality in the state to limit the sale of e-cigarettes and menthol cigarettes to to tobacco stores open only to customers 21 and older. Should Newton follow?
Should Newton restrict sale of e-cigs to 21-plus stores?
by Village 14 | Jan 2, 2019 | Business, Public safety | 12 comments
Conversely, Newton also has the option to grandfather those who are currently between 18-20 from new state laws banning the sale of e-cigs to anyone under 21, something at least one other municipality has done.
Not recommending. Just sharing.
Local officials should not have the authority to take away the rights of citizens who are considered legal adults under the State’s laws and constitution.
@Mike: State law says anyone under 21 cannot purchase these items. So municipal officials aren’t taking anything away from individual citizens, the state has. Local officials would however be deciding which types of businesses have the right to sell these products to citizens who are 21 or older.
How do you feel about that?
Increasing the age to buy tobacco from 18-21 was first done at the local level. In some towns, it was actually the Board of Health that initiated the change. That’s primarily what I was referring to.
I understand the desire among elected officials to protect the public from harmful products. In some cases the government absolutely has a responsibility to do so. But in my opinion, many popular items falling into the “harmful” category are best addresses through consumer protection laws that focus on education and product labeling. I’m just getting sick of more and more laws that curtail individual freedom.
Maybe I’m reading it slightly differently, but it sounds to me like the idea is that any shop selling tobacco products would only allow people 21+ to enter. That would make CVS, Walgreen’s, gas stations, convenience stores, etc. ineligible to sell tobacco products.
Age restrictions for store entry seem an antiquated solution. It ignores the Internets, which I suspect is where virtually kids into this trend get their vaping gear.
By limiting tobacco sales to 21+ stores, you’ll restrict product from legal adults who are already smoking. If that’s the intent then fine, but let’s not hide it. Anyway it doesn’t fix the real issue, which is kids that get around age verification and make vaping gear purchases online.
“Age restrictions for store entry seem an antiquated solution.” Retail cannabis shops have an age restriction -21 and older.
I could support this policy as an expression of our community’s principles, but in practice it will have no effect. Nicotine is a very addictive substance, and those 18-20 will find tobacco if they want it.
Also, it is illogical to bar an 18-year-old from tobacco (or alcohol) but allow him or her to vote, marry, own a firearm, run up debt, appear in pornography, or serve in the military. Our nation should decide whether the legal age of majority is 18 or 21 and implement that decision uniformly.
A better use of our time will be to focus on ways to prevent teens from trying that first or second cigarette.
It seems like a no-brainer to keep cigarettes in any form out of the mouths of young people for as long as possible. If cannabis is going to be restricted to those over 21 then so should cigarettes, especially since cigarettes are far more harmful than cannabis. Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone is far and away the best mayor in MA in terms of providing leadership that other municipalities should emulate. Newton officials should follow Curtatone’s lead on this as well as a number of other issues.
I made a new year’s resolution to be a little less snarky this year. But can’t help myself. When a read a comment along these lines…
It triggers this Pavlovian response: “SOMERVILLE? Why not Everett … or Chelsea?”
Greg, 😉
If I’m understanding the post correctly, MA state law already requires a customer purchasing products containing nicotine to be age 21+.
The new legislation in Somerville restricts e-cigs and menthol cigarettes, the two most common nicotine products used by those 18-21, to stores that only allow those 21+ to enter. An example would be the Smoke Shop to open on Lincoln Street.
As in the discussion of marijuana stores, some comments pertain to laws already in force rather than the topic at hand. Marijuana was already legal for 21+ as nicotine products are already restricted to 21+.
I too think Mayor Curatone has some great ideas. Why not restrict the 2 nicotine products most abused by teens to stores requiring those who enter to be 21+? Makes sense to me. If marijuana is restricted to such stores then a much more dangerous product should be as well.
Greg, I can’t tell whether your comment is meant to be snarky or is just plain Newton elitist or maybe is simply a tongue in cheek reminder of then Alderman Gentile’s caustic remark of a few years ago that belittled one of the communities you mention, but it’s a mistake not to recognize that Somerville has become a magnet for young people, with lots of new commercial and residential development that includes affordable housing. The streets are well maintained. The schools are vastly improved. Nobody is chopping down trees all over the city, or even proposing to do so. And of course they’ve been a model community at handling cannabis legalization. So make fun if you want, but Newton’s pols would surely benefit from taking a look at how Mayor Curtatone and their Somerville counterparts run that city.
@Gerry: Dude, of all people….you don’t recognize snarky when you see it?
Of course, I recognize that there’s plenty of good things happening in Somerville, just as I did in 2009 when then Alderman Gentile made what I consider to be his most memorable floor speech.