Massachusetts Town May Become The First To Ban All Tobacco Sales

The town of Westminster, Massachusetts, may become the first in the nation to outlaw the sale of all tobacco products, with its Board of Health set to hear comments from the public this week on the proposed ban.

Town health agent Elizabeth Swedberg told AP about the reasoning behind the proposal, "The tobacco companies are really promoting products to hook young people. The board was getting frustrated trying to keep up with this." Among the products she pointed to were bubblegum-flavored cigars, electronic cigarettes and a new kind of dis-solvable smokeless tobacco that looks like Tic Tacs.

But town merchants say a ban will hurt their sales, among them Brian Vincent, who owns a grocery on Main Street and says tobacco products make up more than five percent of his sales. Vincent has gotten more than 800 signatures on a petition against a ban, and other store owners have gathered signatures as well. He also contends that outlawing sales won't do much good anyway, saying, "It's going to send business five minutes this way or five minutes that way -- no one's going to quit."

[Associated Press]