Could Worcester ban sale of cigarettes? A city councilor wants to know

WORCESTER — Could Worcester move toward eliminating the purchase of cigarettes and other nicotine products within the city? A city councilor is requesting a feasibility report on that very matter.

District 4 City Councilor Luis Ojeda is set to request the report during Tuesday's City Council meeting.

District 4 City Councilor Luis Ojeda is requesting a report on the feasibility of banning cigarette sales in Worcester.
District 4 City Councilor Luis Ojeda is requesting a report on the feasibility of banning cigarette sales in Worcester.

Ojeda's order calls for City Manager Eric D. Batista to provide a report "relative to how other communities in Massachusetts have moved towards eliminating the purchase of cigarettes or nicotine products in their municipalities."

In 2021, a law went into effect in Brookline that bans the sale of tobacco to anyone born in the 21st century. In March, the Supreme Judicial Court upheld Brookline's law. Brookline's  Tobacco Free Generation law was the first of such laws in the nation.

According to Commonwealth Beacon, six other municipalities have adopted similar laws to Brookline's: Melrose, Wakefield, Stoneham, Malden, Reading and Winchester. Several others are considering such a law.

Ojeda is asking that the feasibility report include data on any potential health benefits, best practices in other communities and any financial impacts.

Statewide, anyone under the age of 21 has been barred from buying tobacco products since then-Gov. Charlie Baker signed the restriction into law in 2018.

In 2023, Worcester's Board of Health unanimously voted to cap the number of businesses that can sell tobacco products to 235. Up to 15 permits could go to so-called “smoking bars.”

Shops have also been busted for illegally selling other items. In August, Habibi Smoke Shop at 650 Main St. lost its permit to sell tobacco after an inspection uncovered alcohol and marijuana.

As of October 2023, 234 permits have been issued, including 11 for smoking bars.

State public health data from August 2019, the latest numbers publicly available, found that Worcester had a significantly higher adult smoking rate than the statewide average.

Tobacco Free Generation laws have been championed by anti-tobacco advocates as a tool to fight death and disease associated with tobacco use.

However, the New England Convenience Store & Energy Marketers Association has opposed these laws, saying they hurt convenience stores, trample on the rights of adults when marijuana and alcohol use remain legal, and are ineffective public health tools.

"It does nothing for public health; it is not a youth ban. Youths are already banned, and frankly our retailers are the ones that are keeping these products out of the hands of youth because we do card everybody," Peter Brennan, executive director of the New England Convenience Store & Energy Marketers Association, said. "If you create a robust black market for these products ... there's going to be more opportunities for kids to access."

Brennan said upward of 25% of in-store revenue could be nicotine-related for convenience stores. Brennan said customers shopping for nicotine products could also purchase foods or other products during a trip. He said retailers in other states have been found to absorb any of the loss in revenue for nicotine sales.

Winter shelter and Green Island traffic

Ojeda has a handful of additional requests on the Tuesday agenda.

He is requesting Batista provide a report on the city’s plans for the "unsheltered" during the winter months. The city has had temporary emergency winter shelters in previous years, including at the former Registry of Motor Vehicles service center at 611 Main St.

Ojeda is also asking for a traffic report from Commissioner of Transportation and Mobility Stephen Rolle to review how the traffic flow on multiple streets in the Green Island neighborhood impacts resident and business safety.

Ojeda lists the following streets: Canton, Ellsworth, Endicott, Harding, Jackson, Lafayette, Lamartine, Millbury, Seymour, Sigel and Washington streets.

Ojeda is also requesting Batista work to ensure developers who purchase property in the city develop their properties in a way that does not negatively impact parking in the neighborhoods.

A group of Green Island residents have been vocal about their displeasure with planned developments in the neighborhood.

Police chief and civil service

Mayor Joseph M. Petty is requesting Batista provide an update on the status of exempting the chief of police and four deputy chief positions from the state's civil service law.

In March, the Worcester City Council unanimously authorized Batista to request the state Legislature approve the exemptions from civil service.

However, the bill has been stuck in the Legislature's joint Committee on Public Service following the end of regular session July 31.

The city has not appointed a permanent chief to succeed Steven M. Sargent since he retired in September 2023. Paul B. Saucier has been serving as chief in an interim capacity for over a year.

Three deputy chiefs — Sean J. Fleming, Edward J. McGinn and Carl J. Supernor — are petitioning the state Civil Service Commission to investigate whether the city is in compliance with state law by not holding a civil service assessment to select the next permanent chief. Their petition had a show cause teleconference Aug. 20.

The status of Verizon fiber and colleges making payments

Councilor-at-Large Morris Bergman is requesting an update on Verizon's installation of Fios in the city.

Verizon representatives have announced plans to build a fiber network out from its office at 15 Chestnut St., said Ellen Cummings, regional director for external and state government affairs for Verizon, with the last part of the project in the Greendale neighborhood. Off of the phased builds, Verizon would use feeder routes to connect to various streets in the city.

Residents have long expressed displeasure with Charter/Spectrum's dominance as an internet service provider.

Bergman also submitted a nonbinding petition to have the City of Worcester go on record as supporting a bill in the state House of Representatives that would require nonprofits with properties valued at or above $15 million to make payments equivalent to 25% of the property tax they would owe.

Bergman, along with Councilor-at-Large and City Council Vice Chair Khrystian King, has frequently brought up the proposed legislation as a possible tool for the city to recoup revenue from large nonprofits such as colleges and universities in conversations following Worcester Polytechnic Institute's purchase of two hotels at Gateway Park.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Cigarette sales ban in Worcester? City councilor asks for report