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Policies to reduce demand for commercial tobacco products have been effective but are not intended to end the nicotine epidemic. It is time to implement policies that phase out the sale of commercial tobacco and nicotine products.
Policy Action for a Nicotine-Free Generation
The first Nicotine-Free Generation law was enacted and implemented in Brookline, Massachusetts in 2020. The tobacco industry's attempted lawsuit to challenge this law was promptly dismissed by the court in 2022.⁴ The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld the law in 2024 after an attempted challenge from two Brookline retailers.⁵
New Zealand passed a Tobacco-Free Generation law in 2022. Similar policies have been discussed or proposed in the European Union, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Singapore, Ireland, Denmark, France, Spain, Canada and many U.S. municipalities.
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Under a nicotine-free generation policy, retailers will be able to maintain their current base of customers who are legally able purchase tobacco. Customers who are already 21 on the determined date will not be impacted by the policy.
This policy will prevent retailers and the tobacco industry from recruiting new, young customers since people who are under 21 on the determined date will never be able to legally purchase tobacco.