Mayor Katjana Ballantyne is announcing that the Somerville Board of Health recently tightened two key regulations for tobacco/nicotine retail sales in Somerville.

As of March 1, 2024, the cap on the number of tobacco/nicotine retail licenses within Somerville will progressively decline. Each time a permit is surrendered, revoked, or not renewed, the cap will be adjusted downward. Additionally, all retailers will now be required to verify the age of every purchaser of tobacco/nicotine products via government photo I.D. to confirm the purchaser is 21 or older. 

The measures received vocal community support. Community members, including several local high school students, spoke strongly in favor of the new regulations in a public forum that was immediately followed by the vote on the proposed regulations. 

“The City and the Board of Health prioritize community health, particularly for youth, and these new regulations will advance that effort. Evidence shows that 90% of smokers begin smoking before age 25, and that the density of tobacco retailers near adolescents’ homes has been associated with increased youth smoking rates and initiation of non-cigarette tobacco product use,” said Bonny Carroll, the City of Somerville’s Six-City Tobacco Control Director.

Somerville is now one of more than 150 other Massachusetts communities that have enacted these regulations.  Through this long-term public health intervention, the Board of Health and City hope to support the health of residents by progressively reducing potential exposure and access to tobacco/nicotine products within the city for generations of Somerville youth to come. 

For more information, please contact Six-City Tobacco Control Director, Bonny Carroll, at bcarroll@somervillema.gov or Prevention Services Manager, Matthew Mitchell, at mmitchell@somervillema.gov. Be sure to also follow Somerville Prevention on Instagram: @somervilleprevention.