Boston Mayor Martin Walsh has proposed raising the minimum age for purchasing all tobacco and nicotine products, including e-cigarettes, by three years to age 21, his office announced Wednesday.
If made law, this proposal would also prohibit smoking bars from allowing citizens under 21 from entering and prohibit the sale of flavored nicotine products to citizens under 21, according to a Wednesday press release.
The proposed changes will benefit Boston youth, Walsh said, and he encouraged other states to adopt similar laws.
“It is our responsibility to do what we can to guide our young people and create a healthier future for all Bostonians,” Walsh said in the release. “We know the consequences of tobacco use are real and can be devastating. These proposed changes send a strong message that Boston takes the issue of preventing tobacco addiction seriously, and I hope that message is heard throughout Boston and across the entire country.”
The Boston Public Health Commission’s Board of Health will vote on Dec. 17 after a hearing on Dec. 3 regarding this change to the law, according to the release. If approved, the laws will become active after 60 days.
John Schachter, a spokesman from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said the Mayor’s proposal would help prevent nicotine addiction in younger citizens.
“By increasing the tobacco sale age to 21, Boston can continue its long standing leadership in combating tobacco use and help make the next generation tobacco-free,” Schachter said. “The move will help counter the industries efforts to target young people at a critical time, when many move from experimenting with tobacco to regular smoking.”
Boston currently prohibits the use of nicotine products at professional, collegiate, high school or organized amateur sporting events, The Daily Free Press reported Sep. 11.
Ziming Xuan, a professor at Boston University’s School of Public Health, said this proposal is consistent with Boston’s commitment to having a healthy community, and would create a healthier environment at BU if passed.
“It will benefit public health in Boston, especially by building a more youth-oriented and healthy environment,” Xuan said. “This is an important message to all community members, and also to our students at Boston University and their parents, that our city really cares about creating an environment for growth and development.”
Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey both support a proposal to raise the national tobacco age to age 21, citing public health concerns, the FreeP reported on Oct. 6.
Several residents and students varied in their support for Walsh’s action.
Anthony Martin, 24, of Fenway, said teenagers shouldn’t be able to buy tobacco and nicotine products because the age to buy alcohol is 21.
“21 is the age when you can buy liquor and all that, so why not cigarettes?” he said. “You’ve got these young kids smoking, and that’s how you know you get them to smoking marijuana and heavier drugs.”
Eytan de Gunzburg, a freshman in BU’s College of Arts and Sciences, said the proposed amendment could be an economic mistake, but that it could also lead to health benefits.
“On an economic level it wouldn’t really make sense because it means less people will be able to buy tobacco, which is heavily taxed, which therefore there will be less government revenue,” he said. “Personally, I smoke and I’m not 21. That would be annoying for me. But I guess health-wise it could be alright, but I would be pretty upset to be honest.”
However, not all agree with the push to raise the age that people can purchase tobacco products.
“People are going to find a way to get the stuff that they want to get,” said Camila Romero, a sophomore in CAS.
Adam Scott, 26, of Dorchester, said raising the age to 21 is restricting for teenagers.
“It was a liberating experience [when] I could go out and buy my own cigarettes,” he said. “I think it’s wrong that you would have to be 21. I think it should remain the normal smoking age, which is 18.”
