When the town of Holbrook, Mass. rings in 2015, it will also usher in a new minimum age to purchase tobacco products, as the board of health recently increased that minimum to 19-years-old. Additionally, retailers are required to ask anyone who looks under the age of 27 and is attempting to buy tobacco or related products for a government-issued identification. The changes go into effect Jan. 1, 2015. Health Agent Arthur Boyle told Wicked Local Holbrook that the age increase is “an attempt to be proactive in keeping tobacco and tobacco-related products out of the reach of our young people.” The onus is on retailers not to sell to those under age, as fines start at $100 and a three-day suspension of the tobacco retailers permit for a first offense before escalating to a $300 fine and a permanent loss of the permit if a retailer racks up four violations in an 18-month period. Holbrook is located about 30 miles south of Boston, with a 2010 population of 10,791 residents.
↧