Boston Passes Tobacco Ban - Cigar bars get 10 year reprieve and no new establisments

2008 12-11 Boston Public Health Commission Board Approves Tighter Tobacco Regulations

Ban on tobacco products at drug stores and colleges takes effect in 60 days

BOSTON - In an effort to reduce exposure to the harmful effects of tobacco, the Boston Public Health
Commission board today approved banning the sale of tobacco products at health and educational
institutions, including pharmacies and drug stores and college and university campuses. The ban is
effective in 60 days.

The board also voted to expand workplace smoking restrictions to include adjacent areas such as
patios and loading docks, and to prohibit smoking in hotels, inns, and bed and breakfasts in Boston.
Those changes immediately go into effect.

“Tobacco exposure continues to be a significant factor that contributes to preventable sickness and
death,’’ said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission. “The
board’s actions will help reduce young people’s exposure to tobacco products, and ensure that they
are not exposed to products that make them sick when they go to places like pharmacies to get well.’’

Under the regulations, no new smoking bars, such as hookah bars that cater to young people, will be
allowed to open. Smoking establishments currently permitted to operate can remain open for 10 years.

The board also voted to make it illegal for stores to sell blunt wraps, a tobacco leaf often marketed to
youths and known to be used as drug paraphernalia, and to impose steeper fines on establishments
that violate the city’s new smoking regulations. Those fines, including for pharmacies and colleges that
defy the ban, will range from $200 to $1,000.

The Commission is also expanding smoking cessation resources in Boston, including:

• Increasing opportunities to train health workers in tobacco treatment counseling;
  
• Working with pharmacists to offer free individual and group smoking cessation counseling
  and nicotine patches;
  
• Promoting the MassHealth and other tobacco cessation benefits to health centers and
  hospitals through training and technical assistance;
  
• Distributing information on smoking cessation programs throughout Boston.