Following a Public Hearing on Wednesday night, the Hopkinton Board of Health unanimously approved to pass the “Nicotine Free Generation” bylaw banning the sale of all tobacco & nicotine products to anyone born after January 1st 2005.
Nicotine Free Generation is defined as “A public health strategy that seeks to protect future generations from the harmful effects of nicotine. It does so by prohibiting the sale of nicotine products to individuals born after a specific date—establishing a birthdate cutoff beyond which individuals will be permanently ineligible to purchase these products. This approach allows existing users to continue purchasing nicotine while gradually phasing out its availability to future generations”.
At the public hearing Wednesday night, nearly a dozen local residents & several members of the Nicotine Free Generation coalition urged the Board of Health to pass the bylaw and shared their views about the harmful impact of Tobacco products (such as Cigarettes and Vape Pens) on teenagers and young adults.
You can view a draft of the newly implemented regulations HERE and the full public hearing below!