Mayor Marty Walsh (D-Boston) is seeking to raise the tobacco purchase age from 18 to 21 and has submitted a plan to the Board of Health. If the measure is passed, the city would join 83 other communities in the state of Massachusetts to raise the legal age to purchase all tobacco and nicotine products from 18 to 21.
According to WBUR, Boston’s NPR Station, Mayor Walsh said in a statement, “We know the consequences of tobacco use are real and can be devastating. These proposed changes send a strong message that Boston takes the issue of preventing tobacco addiction seriously, and I hope that message is heard throughout Boston and across the entire country.”
The move comes a little over a month after a group of Democrat Senators from around the United States called for a national change in the tobacco purchase age that has received a strong recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The state of Massachusetts has become a battleground over the age to purchase tobacco, which saw Needham become first town in the country raise the tobacco age to 21 in 2005.
The Board of Health of Boston is expected to vote on Walsh’s proposal on Dec. 17. If the proposal is approved, the changes would take effect 60 days later.
