Newton Seeks Generational Cigarette Ban To Phase Out Tobacco Sales

NEWTON, MA — A proposed Newton city ordinance aimed at eventually phasing out cigarette and tobacco sales in the city would make it illegal to sell these products to anyone born after Jan. 1, 2004 (this is a correction from an earlier publication).

The ordinance, modeled after the Brookline bylaw that the state Supreme Judicial Court recently upheld, is designed to help create a "nicotine-free generation" in the city by never allowing anyone not already 21 years old by the end of the current calendar year to be eligible to buy cigarette and other tobacco products within city limits.

Those who are 21 years old by Dec. 31, 2024 would still be able to purchase the products legally.

"Within weeks of the Supreme Judicial Court decision, the towns of Stoneham and Wakefield passed similar bylaws prohibiting sales to people born after Jan. 1, 2004, and Malden has held a public hearing on a similar ban," Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller said.

There are 36 retailers in Newton currently permitted to sell tobacco products — some of whom have expressed concerns about the impact of the proposed ordinance on their businesses.

Fuller said the Programs and Services Committee, under Chair Josh Krintzman, will continue to consider the proposal with feedback accepted at citycouncil@newtonma.gov.