EASTHAMPTON — The Board of Health has begun discussions of the “nicotine-free generation” regulation that, if adopted, would ban anyone who hasn’t turned 21 years old from purchasing cigarettes, vapes or other nicotine products in the city.
At the board’s most recent meeting Dec. 10 , Belchertown Board of Health member Kenneth Elstein discussed how the policy has impacted his town. Belchertown was the first municipality in western Massachusetts and the 11th in the state to pass the nicotine-free generation initiative.
Elstein explained that since being enacted in Belchertown, anyone born after Jan. 1, 2004, can no longer legally purchase nicotine and tobacco products.
“The vast majority of people who start nicotine use, start it as teens — 14-year-olds, 16-year-olds,” Elstein said at the Dec. 10 meeting. “We know that in middle schools there are kids vaping.”
Elstein said there are 21 communities in the state that have enacted the policy. Besides Belchertown, other Hampshire County towns that have adopted the policy include Pelham, South Hadley and most recently, Amherst. Leverett also recently adopted the policy, joining Conway in Franklin County.
Overall, Elstein explained, the policy aims to reduce nicotine use of children under the legal age of 21, many of whom obtain nicotine from friends who turn the legal age.
He said the policy over time will widen the gap between those who can legally purchase nicotine products from younger generations. For instance, five years after the policy is enacted in a community, only those 26 and older will be able to purchase these products legally.
“It does not affect anybody who is already a legal purchaser,” Elstein said. “So in particular, the businesses do not lose any current customers.”
Easthampton Director of Public Health Ryan Griffin said the policy aims to reduce the numbers of children using nicotine products.
“Currently, the discussion in Easthampton is exploratory, aimed at understanding the potential public health benefits and hearing from the community before any decisions are made,” Griffin said in an email to the Gazette. “The intent of the Nicotine Free Generation concept is not to restrict individuals who already legally use tobacco products, but rather to prevent youth from starting by limiting them from purchasing tobacco products and reducing the normalization of tobacco and nicotine use.”
Although cigarette usage may have declined over the years, nicotine pouches and vape usage are becoming a more prevalent issue among youth, he said. Currently, e-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product for youth, with approximately 18% of Massachusetts high school students reporting e-cigarette use, he added.
Additionally, Griffin said there are 13 establishments in Easthampton that sell tobacco products and it is up to the board to decide if they want to move forward exploring the policy.
“Our tobacco regulations haven’t been updated since 2017,” Griffin said about Easthampton at the Dec. 10 meeting. “And then, tobacco-related deaths just remain the number one cause of preventable deaths in the United States.”
Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in Massachusetts and across the U.S., accounting for more than 9,000 directly related deaths in the state annually and approximately 28% of all cancer-related deaths, according to the campaign Tobacco-Free Kids.
A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that between 2017 and 2023 there was a decrease of approximately 6.8 million in the number of adults who exclusively smoke cigarettes, and an increase of 7.2 million in those who exclusively use e-cigarettes.
However, there was a decrease in reported middle and high school student use of any tobacco, not nicotine, product with 2.25 million users in 2024 compared to 2.8 million in 2023, according to a 2024 Food and Drug Administration survey.
At the meeting, Griffin strongly encouraged the board to host an in-person public hearing in the future if it proceeds, notifying all establishments that sell nicotine-related products. Board members who were present agreed.
Since enacting the policy, Elstein said “the merchants in Belchertown have told us it’s easier,” to identify people who are the legal age, since it is based on a birth year rather than having to calculate each person’s age individually. Additionally, the board has not heard any direct, negative feedback since it was enacted a year ago.
Brookline was the first community to adopt the policy in Massachusetts. Elstein said the policy is a follow-up to Massachusetts’ efforts to increase the legal age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21 years old, which become law on Dec. 31, 2018.
He said the city of Brookline was challenged in court over its decision, but the case was ultimately dismissed. Multiple local convenience stores challenged the policy in the state Superior Court, according to the organization, Action on Smoking & Health.
Elstein said the policy is what is best for the public health.
“This is not a partisan decision, this is about the health of people and reducing the impact on young people,” he said.
The item first appeared on the agenda for the Easthampton Board of Health’s Nov. 12 meeting. During public speaking time, there was one person who spoke in opposition to the policy.
Additionally, two citizens expressed opposition to the policy at the Dec. 10 meeting, one of them being Stephen Hefler of Cambridge. Hefler said the board needs to consider the negative impact it will have on stores that sell nicotine products.
“Immigrants of color happen to own most of the stores that sell nicotine and tobacco products and while it has been pointed out that such a prohibition may not close their stores, it will definitely hurt their businesses and reduce the overall value of their stores,” Hefler said at the meeting.
Hefler said, in the case of a Brookline gas station, the owner reported that after the city enacted the policy their sales declined, including gasoline. He said if residents of 21 years of age are considered competent to purchase drugs such as alcohol and marijuana, which are intoxicants, the same should go for tobacco and nicotine.
Discussion of the Nicotine Free Generation policy will continue at the Easthampton Board of Health’s January meeting, with a date to be determined.