Bellingham Board of Health Informs Retailers of Proposed Tobacco Birth-Year Sales Ban

BELLINGHAM — March 4, 2025 — Bellingham Board of Health informs tobacco retailers of a proposed birth-year sales ban headed to May Town Meeting. The board held an informational session March 4 to brief local permit holders on a proposed bylaw that would prohibit sales of tobacco and e-cigarette products to anyone born on or after November 4, 2004 — a measure Health Agent Dylan Lante said is modeled on a Brookline restriction upheld by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. No action was taken at the meeting; the bylaw requires a simple majority at the May Town Meeting, where roughly 300 residents typically attend, meaning about 151 votes to pass. Retailer Ernie Peler of Mechanic Street warned the restriction would push customers to Franklin and other border towns, echoing Bellingham's earlier cannabis retail opt-out: "If Bellingham is the only town in the immediate area doing this, it will definitely have an impact on our local businesses." The board noted Bellingham's active tobacco permits have already dropped from 30 to 27, and under the proposed bylaw no new permits would be issued to first-time applicants.