Westborough Adopts Tobacco Regulation Changes

WESTBOROUGH, MA—If you're going to light up in town, or pick up a pack of butts, be aware of some changes coming to Westborough related to tobacco regulations.

The town held a public meeting on May 24 at the Westborough Fire Department to solicit comments and feedback regarding the proposed changes to its Regulations Restricting the Sale of Tobacco Products and Nicotine Delivery Products.

According to Steven Baccari, Westborough's director of public health, the current tobacco rules and regulations' major changed would include:

· Eliminating the possibility of issuing new tobacco sales permits to retail locations within five hundred (500) feet of a public or private elementary or secondary school
· Restricting the sale of flavored tobacco products to smoking bars or adult-only retail tobacco stores (see definition of smoking bars and adult-only retail tobacco stores in the regs.)
· Increasing the minimum legal sales age of tobacco products from 18 to 21
· Increasing the fining structure for violations from $100, $200, $300 for first second and third offenses to $300 for all offenses
· Increasing the tolling period between violations from 18 months to 24 months

The new regulations, after the finished copy is approved by the board, would go into effect until Jan. 15, 2019.

"The board voted to adopt all the amendments as presented in the draft regulations," Baccari told Patch. "The only change they made (at the public meeting) was to add a definition for the word 'distribute.' They voted to define 'distribute – to provide a tobacco product from a retailer to a consumer.'"

For a full explanation of proposed changes, go here.

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