City Westminster in Massachusetts (USA) could become the first community in the state, and possibly the nation, to ban all tobacco sales under a proposal made Monday, regulators say the law is designed to improve health, especially among young people.
The proposed bylaw posted on the city's website is to ban the sale of products containing tobacco or nicotine, including cigarettes, chewing tobacco, and even electronic cigarettes, producing a vapor that is inhaled. .
The plan has angered local shop owners, who are circulating a petition to block the action, saying it will lead them to bankruptcy and that it is enough to send people to neighboring communities for the products of the tobacco.
A ban such as the one under consideration in Westminster represents the next frontier in the campaign to reduce tobacco use, which is already banned in all workplaces in Massachusetts, including restaurants and bars. It is already illegal to sell tobacco products to minors, and some communities have banned smoking in public parks.
At Westminster, a town of 7400 which lies about 25 miles north of Worcester, " Health Council weighed the pros and cons of a total ban for months“, Says health worker Elizabeth“ Wibby ”Swedberg. " The increasingly frustrated board of directors tried to get a head start on marketing new tobacco products and ventures, such as the 69-cent bubble gum flavored cigars aimed at attracting young smokers“, Says Swedberg.
With this action, the Westminster Health Administration Board says " that does not seem right, that we allow products which, if used according to the instructions, makes die 50 per cent of people, Says Swedberg.
In Westminster, as in many communities in Massachusetts, the local board of health regulates the sale and asks questions about the authorization of the sale of tobacco.
“It sends a clear message to residents that this is a bad product. "
In recent years, more than 100 Massachusetts communities have expanded their tobacco control rules to include a ban on the sale of electronic cigarettes and other nicotine delivery products to minors, according to The Assistance Program. Massachusetts Municipal Association Tobacco Control Technique.
But it appears Westminster is set to become the first community in the nation to propose an outright ban on the sale of tobacco products to anyone, regardless of age, Massachusetts and national tobacco control advocates and researchers. Although no clearinghouse is tracking it, lawyers could not identify another community with such a ban.
« This sends a clear message to residents that this is a bad product“Said DJ Wilson, director of the municipal association's tobacco control program. that being said, the ban cannot stop adults from driving to another city to buy cigarettes, but can be effective in controlling tobacco for young people, who are unable to drive.
Five pages of the Health Commission's proposal cites research on tobacco-related health care costs in the United States, including a recent report from the surgeon general that concluded this year alone, near 500 000 adults in the country will die prematurely because of smoking.
But store owners say it is unfair to ban sales of a legal product, and they fear their financial losses will be significant. Westminster has seven stores licensed to sell tobacco.
« Where do you draw the line, a ban on sweets because it causes diabetes? Are we going to ban bacon because it causes cholesterol? It seems like a slippery slope “Said Brian Vincent, owner of Vincent's Country Store.
Vincent says « Tobacco products make up about 6 percent of his sales, and his concern is not only the loss of those sales, but the other items people buy when getting cigarettes, like a cold drink, a bag of crisps. , and lottery tickets« . While tobacco products can be less than 10 percent of sales in grocery stores. Cigarettes and other tobacco products may account for a third or more of total convenience store sales, industry analyzes have shown.
At Westminster Liqueurs, Michael Fratturelli fears that residents will head to the surrounding towns, where there are plenty of shops to buy cigarettes.
« No one is going to quit smoking because this town has decided to ban cigarettes“Said Fratturelli. "Companies will no longer want to come to this city, and the value of our businesses will go down. »
Swedberg said the board will listen to residents' concerns at a public hearing scheduled for Nov. 12, 2014, and the commission has no plans to put anyone out of the way. 'business. For it to pass, the board must have a vote of approval to ban three members of Health.
She also said it is "a little intimidating" to be the first community to propose a ban on the sale of tobacco and that her office has been inundated with phone calls in reaction to the plan that started leaking this week. last.
« Maybe residents will think twice before driving the distance to buy cigarettes, " she says.
Public health researchers applauded Westminster's proposal, but were unable to say whether such an unusual approach could help stem tobacco use, as it has not been attempted elsewhere.
« When we talk about smokers in Massachusetts and across the country, 80 percent say they want to quit, and 50 percent try each year.“Said Dr. Michael Fiore, professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin and director of the school's Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention.
Still, Fiore said he was optimistic the sales ban will turn out to be " a helping hand to get this tobacco addiction monkey away from their backs. »
See you on November 12, 2014 to find out whether or not Westminster will become the first city in the USA to become “No Tabac Town”
This draft is a translation of an article in the newspaper "the Boston Globe" written by Kay Lazar and published on October 28, 2014
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/massachusetts/2014/10/27/westminster-proposes-first-state-ban-tobacco-sales/1fH3dMnl2K8RGBF1zZz5AK/story.html
