By THOMAS GRILLO
LYNN – The city is considering raising the legal age for buying tobacco to 21, setting a new bar for public health.
“I like the idea,” said Michele Desmarais, Lynn’s public health director. “We need to combat TV ads that suggest smoking is cool and we just want our teens to be healthier.”
The Board of Health will consider a proposal Tuesday at City Hall to increase the age to purchase tobacco products from 18.
So far, 145 Bay State communities have adopted the proposal. There’s a bill on Beacon Hill that would raise the age statewide to 21.
A 2015 report by the National Academy of Medicine concluded that raising the tobacco sale age to 21 will enhance public health and save lives.
The study found that raising the tobacco sale age will reduce the number of teens who start smoking; reduce smoking-caused deaths; and improve the health of adolescents. About 95 percent of adult smokers began smoking before they turned 21, the survey said.
Proponents argue increasing the tobacco age will counter the industry’s efforts to target young people at a critical time when many go from experimenting with tobacco to regular smoking.
Christine Neals, communications manager for the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce, said the organization has not taken a position on the issue.
But Jon Hurst, president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, said his members oppose raising the age.
“Tobacco is a legal product, let consumers and stores decide what they want to buy and sell,” he said. “On the North Shore, smokers already drive a short distance to buy cigarettes in New Hampshire. If Massachusetts raises the age, more sales will leave the community.”
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Sam Vitali, a Lynn attorney who represents the Mobil station on Chestnut Street, said while merchants are not opposed to raising the age to 21 they will fight two other proposals. One would ban the sale of so-called blunt wraps. Similar to a cigarette rolling paper, they are made of tobacco.
“Why should the Board of Health prevent you from buying a product that is legal today,” Vitali said.
In addition, he is against another plan that would restrict prices of cigars. Under the new rule, a merchant could not sell single cigars for less than $5.
“Today, I can buy a nip at a liquor store for 99 cents, but I would not be able to buy a $1 cigar,” he said. “It’s totally inconsistent.”
Joyce Redford, director of the North Shore/Cape Ann Tobacco Policy Program said she favors the measure because 18-year-old high schoolers would no longer be able to buy cigarettes and influence their younger classmates.
“It would remove that 18-year-old from high school and make cigarettes less available to eighth and ninth graders,” she said.
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].