NORTHAMPTON — The Board of Health is again entertaining a generational ban on tobacco products — more than a year after the idea first surfaced — and is planning to hold a public forum next month to gauge the city’s reaction to the idea.
As discussed during at the board’s Jan 15 meeting, the Nicotine-Free Generation initiative would prohibit the sale of cigarettes, vapes or other tobacco products in the city to people born after a certain date, whether or not they are over 21-years-old. The goal is to combat nicotine addiction, especially among young people.
The majority of the five-person board seemed inclined, or open-minded at least, to adopt the measure. Suzanne Smith, however, is a little more suspicious of how people may react, and said she feels that, “something like this is not going to go over well.”
“I can see some problems just springing this on people. Just suddenly, one day, we announced that if you’re not 21 by today, you cannot buy cigarettes,” she said. “That’s a big change. It affects a lot of people, and I think we need some time to educate the public about what we’re doing in our intent, and also point out that we’re joining other towns in the valley if we move this way.”
If the Board of Health were adopt the ban, Northampton would be the fifth community in Hampshire County, following the lead of Amherst, Belchertown, South Hadley and Pelham. In Massachusetts, some 20 towns have implemented the ban after Brookline set a precedent by passing the measure in 2021.
After about an hour of discussion, the Northampton board decided to hold the public forum at a date to be determined in February. This forum will be followed by a Board of Health meeting in March to discuss the outcome of the forum, followed by a hearing and vote on the measure most likely in April.
Advocates for the idea made their case at the Jan. 15 meeting for why the ban should be implemented, saying that the measure has drastically reduced nicotine use among teens. They said the requirement has the ability to “save lives” by taking these products out of the hands of consumers, especially young people.
Heather Warner, coordinator of the Collaborative for Educational Services’ Hampshire Franklin Tobacco-Free Community Partnership, said that despite declining rates of young people vaping, the industry keeps finding clever ways to lure people in.
“Nicotine rates by young people continue to go down, and fortunately it has been going down,” Warner told the board. “The industry keeps coming up with new, innovative ways to attract young people. When we saw that cigarette use went down … out came JUUL, and we had this incredible epidemic of use and youth addiction, and vapes are still the number one product being used.”
While vapes are now on the decline, Warner warns that the industry has come out with a new wave of products that have caught the attention of young people: nicotine pouches.
She said both vapes and pouches use synthetic nicotine, which heightens the potential of becoming hooked on the products.
“Nicotine-Free Generation just allows the regular resident of communities to stand up to a huge industry that will continue to market to our kids,” she said.
Ken Elstein, who is in his sixth year as a member of the Belchertown Board of Health, was a leader in implementing the measure in his town. He shared his experience with implementation, and voiced support for the measure.
“Nicotine-free generation is really completely different from alcohol prohibition in the 1920s and 30s,” said Elstein, stressing that the products would not be illegal. Rather, he said, nicotine products would not become a criminal offense, but a civil one for stores that sell to customers born after the date the Board of Health may decide on.
He cited reports that have shown underage users most often obtain nicotine products from people of a legal age, and stressed that, for example, underage Smith College students have access to people over 21 who can buy them devices. With a generational ban, older students wouldn’t be able to buy for younger ones.
He also shared some insights into how Belchertown has received the measure in the past year and called it a “seamless” transition.
“We were the first in the valley to pass it in December 2024, so we’ve now had an entire year of experience,” he said. “I have not heard a single push back on it at all … one of our people got a grant, and we did test purchases for a 21 year-old to actually go in and buy nicotine, and eight of the 10 stores passed the test. The other two are now subject to fines, which I hear they’re appealing.”
Not everyone agrees.
Peter Brennan, director of the New England Convenience Store & Energy Marketer Association, urged the board not to pursue the policy, saying that the measure equates to a “value judgment” being made by its members.
“Really, the only thing you would do is harm local retailers and make local citizens angry that they are losing rights under this regime. And the state has already looked at this. They’ve decided not to pursue it,” he said.
With nicotine products being a crucial stream of income for gas stations, Brennan said retailers would be at a “significant disadvantage” compared to neighboring communities and other states.
In addition, he said, “This would, if enacted, create a robust illicit market.”
He said that nicotine sellers have a high compliance rate, ensuring that products are kept behind the counter, and nobody under the age of 21 is allowed to purchase the products.
Brennan said both he and his association also believe the move would be “philosophically” wrong and an overreach of power.
“I believe that adults over 21 years of age do have the right to purchase nicotine products, and I don’t think that it’s the Board of Health’s role to tell adults what potentially unhealthy products they can and can’t consume … there’s really no point to doing it unless you’re just looking to make a moral value judgment, and I think it’s better for society when you just allow adults to live as adults and make adult choices.”