Newton, Mass. Considering Banning Tobacco Sales to Anyone Born After 2003

Newton, Mass. is considering a generational tobacco ban, a law that would ban anyone born after 2003 from purchasing tobacco products in the city.

The proposal comes a little more than a month after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld a similar ban in Brookline, Mass. Other Massachusetts towns, including Stoneham and Wakefield, have passed similar proposals. The moves are part of the next wave of tobacco-related age restrictions.

Tobacco 21—the movement to increase the minimum age to purchase tobacco products from 18- to 21 years old—more or less started in Massachusetts. A pair of doctors and other advocates lobbied dozens—if not hundreds—of local governments to increase the minimum age to purchase tobacco products. By the time the statewide change went into effect in late 2018, five other states had already passed their own state laws.

While there were statewide generational tobacco bans proposed in a few states last year, they remain relatively uncommon in both the U.S. and abroad.

Last week, the United Kingdom’s Parliament voted to move forward with a generational tobacco ban of its own, one that would ban anyone born after 2008 from purchasing tobacco products. It still needs to pass subsequent votes before becoming law. New Zealand was the first country to introduce a generational tobacco ban, though less than a year after it passed, the country’s new government announced and followed through with plans to reverse course on the policy.

Newton is a Boston suburb with a population of around 90,000.

The proposal is currently with the Newton Programs and Services Committee.