Should the Tobacco Purchasing Age Be Raised in Waltham?

Waltham officials are asking state lawmakers to raise the age at which consumers statewide can purchase tobacco products to 21, according to the city’s health director.

Waltham Public Health Director Walter Sweder and the Board of Health recently made the request, which would apply to all consumers across Massachusetts, in a letter to State Rep. Thomas Stanley, D-Waltham. 

If passed as requested, the law would apply to tobacco products, which would include cigaretts among other items. Currently, the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products is 18. 

Waltham Board of Health member William Hanley, in an interview with Waltham Patch, said the board made the request after dealing with several issues items involving the promotion of tobacco products. 

“My philosophy is we should be going in the other direction," Hanley said.

Approving the idea, Hanley said, could lead to lower smoking rates among younger people and stop school-aged individuals from legally acquiring tobacco products. Sweder said that the longer students can be prohibited from smoking, the more likely they will not become addicted to tobacco. 

“This,” Sweder said of the proposal, “would hopefully have some impact there.”

While their request does not specify exactly where they should be sold, Sweder said he would want to see tobacco products available only at liquor stores and pharmacies, where they can more easily be regulated.

Stanley, who acknowledged he had not seen the letter before speaking to Waltham Patch, said he preliminarily supports the idea.

“At first blush, it sounds like it might a good idea," Stanley said.

Lawmakers, Stanley said, should have a rigorous debate about the idea before voting on it. He said he would like to research the idea with other towns to examine reactions and consequences it might have in Waltham.

Waltham could look to Brookline as one case study. Brookline has voted to raise the purchasing age to  

Originally, Sweder said he wanted to raise the purchase age only in Waltham, but he said city attorneys told him there was no precedent for doing that. Therefore, the Board of Health asked Stanley to take it up with lawmakers.

D & L Liquors, which has two locations in Waltham, supports the idea, said the company's wine department manager, Leah Dion. D & L’s policy already prohibits the sale of tobacco products to anybody under 21, according to Dion.

“It is very important to us as local business owners to protect the community and the children of the community so we are 100 percent for increasing the legal age for purchasing cigarettes as it will help do just that,” Dion said in a email to Waltham Patch.

As for whether raising the purchase age would hurt business is anbody’s guess, but Stanley said he is not concerned with that. Due to her stores’ current policy, Dion said she could not comment on the potential impact on businesses.