Small towns are suddenly fighting big tobacco with local laws.
First Suffolk County, New York raised the minimum age to purchase cigarettes to 21-years-old. That prompted Nassau County, New York lawmakers to consider a similar law.
And now, one Massachusetts town is considering a complete ban on tobacco sales:
The cartons of Marlboros, cans of Skoal and packs of Swisher Sweets are hard to miss stacked near the entrance of Vincent’s Country Store, but maybe not for much longer: All tobacco products could become contraband if local health officials get their way.
This sleepy central Massachusetts town of 7,700 has become an improbable battleground in America’s tobacco wars. On Wednesday, the Board of Health will hear public comment on a proposed regulation that could make Westminster the first municipality in the United States to ban sales of all tobacco products within town lines.
Of course the tobacco companies are vigorously challenging the suggestion of an outright ban. It doesn't seem likely that the ban would pass, but:
Citing a report from the U.S. surgeon general, Swedberg said that if tobacco use continues unabated, 5.6 million American children who are younger than 18 today will die prematurely because of smoking. Change, she said, ‘‘has to start somewhere.’’
Are these laws and proposed laws the beginning of a wave of similar local laws?