BECHERTOWN – The Board of Health expects to vote in June on raising from 18 to 21 the minimum age to legally purchase tobacco and nicotine products. A hearing Monday night drew only a handful of people, and none expressed opposition to the move.
Chairman Robert Hutchinson said he expects the board to vote on the measure at its June meeting.
Among those who attended the hearing was Lester Hartman, a pediatrician from Needham who praised the board for moving ahead with the tighter regulations. If passed, they will also prohibit outdoor smoking on town-owned property such as the Town Common, a public beach at Lake Metacomet, and athletic fields. Beyond that, restaurants with outdoor eating areas will also be required to prohibit patrons from smoking there.
“I was a little surprised that nobody showed up to voice an opinion” on the proposed changes, said Hutchinson. The board has been working on the revised regulations since January.
Hartman, who said he has been encouraging towns throughout the state to raise the age for tobacco purchase, said that 108 communities in Massachusetts currently have the stricter policy, with several others currently considering joining them.
Hartman also said he is “cautiously optimistic” that the Legislature will soon raise the statewide age at which people can legally buy cigarettes to 21. The state Senate voted by a margin of 32-2 last week to approve such a move and the House is expected to take up the question soon.
Hartman said Gov. Charlie Baker has indicated that, depending on the language of the final bill, he would sign such a measure into law.
Hawaii now is the only state with a minimum age of 21 for tobacco purchase, said Hartman, and he expects California to pass such a measure soon.
Northampton resident Melinda Calianos, who directs the Tobacco Free Community Partnership under the Hampshire Council of Governments, attended the meeting to support the Belchertown board in moving ahead with tightening local regulations. She said her organization could assist in posting signs in public places where smoking would no longer be allowed.
According to Calianos, the longer people wait before trying a cigarette, the less likely they are to become addicted. “Eighty percent of lifetime smokers started before they were 18,” she said.
Amherst, Southampton, South Hadley, Leverett and Greenfield are among the communities in western Massachusetts which already have raised the age minimum to 21.
Eric Goldscheider can be reached at eric.goldscheider@gmail.com.