Massachusetts’ Generational Tobacco Bans Continue To Spread

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently upheld a significant bylaw enacted in Brookline, Massachusetts, known as a generational tobacco ban. This groundbreaking regulation prohibits the sale of tobacco products to individuals born on or after January 1, 2000. The court’s decision, issued on March 8, 2024, reinforces Massachusetts’ leading role in controversial tobacco regulatory policies.

For nearly a year, Cigar Rights of America has been writing about the dangers of ill-conceived tobacco regulatory policies. CRA emphasized how such policies can quickly gain momentum and proliferate without regulators fully considering their economic consequences, as evidenced by officials in more than a half-dozen Boston-area communities passing bans or considering them just weeks after the Supreme Judicial Court upheld Brookline’s bylaw.

The prospective expansion of these bans in Massachusetts and the potential for nationwide adoption presents existential challenges for the premium cigar industry. Though currently targeting a demographic typically younger than the median age of premium cigar consumers, these bans would profoundly reshape the industry’s landscape, affecting both manufacturers and retailers. Once generational smoking bans are implemented, a clear sunset for the industry’s viability in a given region will be created. That, in turn, creates strong pressure for an exodus from the industry for manufacturers and retailers alike.

This week, in further efforts to resist Generational Tobacco Bans, CRA submitted a formal statement of opposition to the city council in Newton, Massachusetts, opposing their proposed ban under consideration.

For the premium cigar industry and its supporters, the time to act is now, and that is precisely what CRA is doing. Engaging with policymakers and carrying out public education efforts are essential to navigate this precarious threat. The industry must articulate the distinct nature of premium cigars, emphasizing responsible consumption and the cultural heritage that sets them apart from other tobacco products so that they are exempted from such bans where they occur—failure to do so risks premium cigars becoming casualties of misguided regulatory policies.