Boston Public Health Commission approves new tobacco regulations

Roger Swartz, Director of the Bureau of Community Initiatives at the Boston Public Health Commission discusses Boston's new tobacco regulations. (video produced by Boston Neighborhood Network News: http://www.nnnonline.org/)

BOSTON - 12/11/08 - 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 boards actions will help reduce young peoples 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 citys 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.

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• tobacco
• smoking
• cessation
• cigarettes
• boston
• public
• health