The controversial plan to ban sales of all tobacco products in Westminster, Mass. created an unruly public hearing forcing the city’s board of health to call off the meeting early.

Last month, Westminster announced it would prohibit the sale of all tobacco products and nicotine delivery products, including e-cigarettes. Violators would be fined $300 for the first offense and risk a suspension of a board health permit for seven days if they were found in violation of the law for a second time in a 24-month period.

At that time, the board of health also announced a Nov. 12 meeting. It was forced to move the meeting from the city’s town hall to Westminster Elementary School in order to accommodate the 500-person crowd. According to The Boston Globe, angry citizens in opposition to the ban forced Chairwoman Andrea Crete to call the meeting to end early.

The board of health will continue to accept written public comments through the end of the month, but there will be no further meetings to handle public comments. The three-person board is expected to vote before the end of the year.

Westminster was home to 7,277 residents as of the 2010 census, and is located in Worcester County, 45 miles northwest of Boston.

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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.