Newton Joins 'Nicotine Free Generation' Movement

NEWTON, MA — The City Council has passed an ordinance that will prohibit the sale of tobacco and nicotine smoking products in the city to anyone born after March 1, 2004.

Newton now becomes the 13th municipality to do so, including its neighboring community of Brookline, which was the first to pass the law in 2020.

Mayor Ruthanne Fuller described the ordinance’s purpose as creating a “nicotine free generation.” She said that smoking-related illnesses contribute significantly to health care costs.
“Nicotine is considered to be more addictive than alcohol and cannabis. There is no safe amount of nicotine. Nicotine is harmful at all ages,” Fuller said. “Nicotine is the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States.”

Fuller admitted that some of the 35 Newton retailers permitted to sell tobacco products have contacted her and the City Council to express their concerns.

Last November, State Reps. Tommy Vitolo, Kate Lipper-Garabedian, and State Sen. Jason Lewis proposed The Nicotine Free Generation Bill, which would implement what Newton and the other communities have done on a statewide basis.