The Woburn Board of Health voted unanimously to adopt new regulations aimed at making it harder for young people to purchase tobacco products here in Woburn.
Those new regulations include raising the age to purchase tobacco products in Woburn to 21 years of age, and capping the number of tobacco permits issued by the City at the current number of 44.
No additional tobacco permits will be available in Woburn.
Rick Jolly, program coordinator for the Mayor’s Coalition Against Substance Abuse, began working with the Board of Health in the fall of 2017 to consider changes in the City’s tobacco regulations. After some research and discussion, the Board of Health adopted the new regulations at the end of January 2018.
The City of Woburn now joins 165 cities and counties to adopt so-called Tobacco 21 legislation, a national movement aimed at enacting similar regulations across the country. A statewide bill was introduced in Massachusetts in 2015, but has yet to pass both the House and Senate.
“It makes sense to eliminate the option to purchase tobacco among younger persons. A few years of maturity can change hearts and minds about the dangers of tobacco use,” said Mayor Scott Galvin.
Board of Health members Chairman Kevin McDonough and members Dr. Robert Tarpy, Joel Long and City Health Director Jack Fralick.