In January, Newton City Council banned tobacco and e-cigarettes for people born on or after March 1, 2004, and local vape shops and gas stations are apprehensive of its potential effects.
“I have customers who will come in who have just turned 21, and I’ve had to turn them away, obviously, because I can’t sell to them,” said Devlynne Loder, manager of Lake Smoke and Vape.
The City of Newton’s website highlights the 2022 Newton Public Schools Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance data, which found that 8 percent of Newton high schoolers vaped and 3 percent frequently smoked cigarettes. The Newton City Council refers to the ban as a “Nicotine-free Generation Ordinance” intended to create a generation of people who never start using tobacco products.
Charlie Hova, manager of the Mobil gas station on Beacon Street, strongly opposes the ban.
“I think it’s bullshit,” Hova said. “I don’t believe in it at all … It’s just very stupid.”
Hova said he disagrees with the ban’s strict cutoff date.
“If they banned them 100 percent, I still wouldn’t like that, but I would understand,” Hova said. “But for them to just pick a date and go with it, I think it is pretty arbitrary.”
Loder said she believes the decision to use nicotine or tobacco should be up to the individual, not the government.
“I feel as though, if, like, you’re 21 years old, you’re grown enough to make your own decisions,” Loder said.
Loder manages one of the two vape shops in the city. Newton tobacco and nicotine regulation allows for two retail tobacco or nicotine delivery product stores. The sale of e-cigarettes is restricted to adult-only stores, so gas stations and convenience stores are only permitted to sell tobacco.
Loder expects this ban to pose an issue for Lake Smoke and Vape in the future.
“I think it is going to have, like, a detrimental effect on the smoke shop in the long run,” Loder said. “Right now, I don’t see that much of a problem, but I definitely do foresee it in the future.”
Hova assumes he will need to adjust his tobacco inventory.
“I’ll probably either, you know, stop selling as much or not have as much in stock because it’s just wasted money on a shelf,” Hova said.
While it is too soon for Hova and Loder to see the ban’s effects on their stores’ revenues, towns that enacted similar bylaws have felt the impact.
Elias Audy, owner of Village Mobil in Brookline, saw a 35 percent decrease in profits in 2024 due to cigarette sales and consequently couldn’t raise salaries for his employees, according to Brookline.News. Brookline was the first municipality in the United States to pass a generational tobacco ban.
Since Brookline’s ban in 2020, 12 other towns have passed similar bylaws, according to Action on Smoking and Health. This January, state senators proposed a bill to ban the sale of nicotine and tobacco products to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2006, reflecting the state’s growing emphasis on smoking prevention.
Hova and Loder prepared for Newton’s ban by putting up the required signage, indicating the ban’s requirements. Now, the stores are strictly enforcing the ban, otherwise, they would risk tobacco-related violations, resulting in a fine of up to $5,000 and a 30-day permit suspension.
Hova expressed his discontent with the government’s involvement in people’s personal lives and choices.
“This is one more way the government, I feel like, is just kind of getting into the pockets of small businesses,” Hova said. “The people that are making these rules can barely control their own lives, so I don’t think that they should be trying to control the lives of other people.”
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