New MA Bill Would Combat Tobacco Sales to Minors

Boston.com

Hoping to combat a rise in tobacco sales to children under 18 and boost funding for antismoking programs, City Councilor Michael P. Ross wants to triple the cost of permits to sell tobacco products, eliminate counter displays, and make it harder for new merchants to sell tobacco.

Under a measure Ross introduced yesterday, yearly permit fees for Boston tobacco vendors would rise from $50 to $150 and surplus funds would be directed to youth-focused tobacco prevention programs. The ordinance would also require community input before a new tobacco vendor permit is granted and allow the Boston Public Health Commission to deny permits in cases where there is serious opposition.

Ross criticized a dip in state funding for tobacco prevention programs, which dropped from $48 million in 2002 to less than $2 million. The shortfall affected the city's ability to prevent youth smoking and monitor tobacco vendors more closely, Ross said.

Ross cited a recent report by the Boston Tobacco Control Program that found tobacco sales to minors have risen by more than 10 percent in Boston in the last fiscal year. In Mission Hill, a neighborhood Ross represents, the study concluded that sales have increased by 15 percent.

The proposal would require stores to remove self-serve counter displays of cigarettes, cigars, and loose tobacco, a way to reduce the chance of theft. Boston Public Health Commission spokeswoman Kristin O'Connor said that state law already prohibits such displays and that stores must display signs stating that a customer must be 18 years old to purchase tobacco. But others say smoking products are still on some countertops and that underage smokers still manage to duck the law.