Licensing of tobacco sales in the City of Somerville is being proposed by the Board of Health.

By Beatriz Leite

At the latest Somerville Board of Health meeting on June 29, the Board, Brian Green, Karin Carroll, and Bonny Carroll opened the webinar with a proposal to limit tobacco access in the city of Somerville. According to them, tobacco sellers all around the city could benefit, by making their product less accessible, therefore more valuable.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services established that nicotine can be as addictive as cocaine or heroin and causes cancer, respiratory and cardiac diseases, and irritations to the eyes, nose, and throat. Along with the proven adverse consequences for brain development in adolescents, who are accessing nicotine easily due to no ID verification in some smoke shops.

In this meeting, a case of a 16-year-old adolescent girl that purchased nicotine products at Davis Square Smoke Shop was discussed due to an appeal by the store owner, Shivam Patel, to a cease-and-desist order.

The teenager was able to walk into the store and purchase the nicotine product, only authorized for adults above the age of 21. That incident happened because the seller did not ask for any form of age verification and simply sold the product.

Patel appealed to the Board asking not to order the closure of the business for three days because the employee that sold the product had already been fired and they will now check for ID verification. The board did not approve and also informed the owner that minors cannot even enter the store, therefore he should purchase an ID scanner and have an employee at the door to check everyone’s ID, no matter the apparent age.

To prevent incidents like that from happening and to also reduce tobacco access the board is proposing a new tobacco license that will work like a liquor license for establishments, making it harder for just anyone to sell. The Somerville Board of Health would give out the permits to establishments.

The law would regulate who is allowed to sell nicotine products, what quantity, packaging, and age. It should be an establishment that does not share space with another business, that has a separate entrance, that does not sell food, beverages, or alcohol, that does not have a restaurant license or lottery license, and whose only purpose is to sell or offer for retail sale tobacco products. More details are stated in the Regulation of the Somerville Board of Health Restricting the Sale of Tobacco Products and Smoke Accessories document.

Board members argued that the bill would be beneficial to the vendors too and that most are pleased with it because it makes the business more exclusive considering only a few can be allocated in a certain area and shall meet all prerequisites.

Although the Board of Health seems firm about this permit, no final decisions about when it will be put into action have been made. The next meeting will be held in September, with updates on this matter.