Some Massachusetts lawmakers push for ‘generational tobacco ban’

BOSTON — A handful of Massachusetts lawmakers are hoping to persuade their colleagues to support a proposal that would make the state the first to pass a ban aimed at eliminating the use of tobacco products over time.

Other places have considered similar “generational tobacco bans,” which phase out the use of tobacco products based not only on a person’s age, but also on their year of birth.

Under a Massachusetts law signed in 2018, the age to purchase any tobacco product, including cigarettes, cigars and e-cigarettes, was raised to 21. Massachusetts also banned the sale of all flavored tobacco products in an effort to reduce young people’s interest in nicotine. .

Learn more: How to get 4.5 million Americans to quit smoking

The new proposal, which lawmakers plan to introduce next year, would expand efforts to combat tobacco use by phasing out all sales of nicotine and tobacco products. If the bill is approved, young people who are not old enough to legally purchase nicotine and tobacco will never be able to legally purchase them in Massachusetts, which would no longer create new users.

It would not apply to marijuana and the deadline would be adjusted once passed to ensure that anyone 21 and older as of that date would not be affected.

First city to pass generational smoking ban

Brookline, a city of about 63,000 neighboring Boston, was the first municipality in the country to pass such a ban in 2020. Instead of raising the age for purchasing cigarettes, the regulation blocks the sale of tobacco to anyone born on or after January 1. , 2000. The rule took effect in 2021.

This would mean that at some point in the future, no one would be allowed to purchase tobacco products in the city. The measure was challenged, but the state’s highest court ruled earlier this year, upholding the ban.

Other Massachusetts cities and towns have already approved similar tobacco bans, including Malden, Melrose, Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield and Winchester.

Unclear levels of support

Democratic Sen. Jason Lewis, one of the statewide supporters of the proposal, said the bill would “save countless lives and create a healthier world for the next generation.”

“We all know the devastating health effects of nicotine and tobacco products, especially on our young people,” he said.

Nicotine and tobacco products are addictive and can increase the risk of lung cancer, heart disease, stroke and other diseases.

Almost 9 out of 10 Adults who smoke cigarettes daily started smoking by age 18, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which also found that by 2024, about 2 in 5 college students who have ever used a tobacco product in were currently consuming.

Peter Brennan, executive director of the New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association, said the proposal would hurt small, mom-and-pop stores that rely on cigarettes for a significant portion of their sales.

It would also disadvantage stores near neighboring states that allow cigarette sales to all adults.

“It’s a very bad idea,” he said. “In reality, you are simply removing the right of adults to purchase a legal, age-restricted product.”

Taking away some rights from some adults and not others is likely unconstitutional, he said, adding that other prohibition efforts have not worked, such as past bans on alcohol, marijuana and games of chance.

It’s unclear how much support the proposal has in the Legislature.

Massachusetts has taken other steps in recent decades to combat smoking, including increasing taxes on cigarettes. These taxes would likely be reduced and ultimately eliminated by a phased-in statewide smoking ban.

Any reduction in cigarette tax revenue would be more than offset by reduced health care costs and other savings, Lewis said.

In 2022, 10.4% of adults in Massachusetts reported smoking cigarettes, according to the state Department of Public Health.

Other places weigh similar bans

Some California lawmakers have pushed to ban all tobacco sales, introducing legislation last year to make it illegal to sell cigarettes and other products to anyone born after Jan. 1, 2007.

In 2022, New Zealand became the first country to pass a law to ban young people for life from buying cigarettes by requiring that tobacco can never be sold to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009. ax.

In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak propose by raising the legal age at which English people can buy cigarettes by one year, each year until it eventually becomes illegal for the entire population. The proposal was not approved earlier this year.