Massachusetts lawmakers—including Senator Jason Lewis and Representatives Tommy Vitolo and Kate Lipper-Garabedian—are planning to introduce a bill next year that would prohibit individuals born after a certain date from purchasing tobacco products, according to a report from Halfwheel on November 26th.
While the specific date cutoff is not yet known, the bill will not affect those already of legal age at the time of introduction.
Although Massachusetts may not be the first state to propose banning flavored tobacco, it could become the first to successfully pass such a law. With one of the highest cigar taxes in the nation and a history of banning flavored tobacco products, Massachusetts is considered one of the least tobacco-friendly states in the U.S.
Earlier this year, the Massachusetts Supreme Court upheld a local law in Brookline that bans tobacco and e-cigarette sales to anyone born after January 1, 2000. This precedent has encouraged lawmakers to pursue similar state-level legislation. Meanwhile, a proposal in Peabody to implement a similar ban has been temporarily suspended due to significant public opposition.
In 2018, Massachusetts raised the minimum legal purchase age for tobacco to 21, becoming the sixth state to do so. Now, with this proposed ban, the state may be poised to further cement its role as a leader in tobacco control.
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