A pair of bills introduced into the Massachusetts House of Representatives seek to rein in what some would describe as a recent string of power grabs by boards of health throughout the state when it comes to the sale of tobacco. Rep. Paul K. Frost (R-Auburn) recently introduced H. 1950, which seeks to prevent local health boards from banning the sale of legal products by authorized merchants in their municipality, while H. 1951 specifically addresses the sale of tobacco products. Both have been referred to the Joint Committee on Public Health. Both were introduced in response to an attempt by the Westminster Board of Health to ban all tobacco sales last fall, a proposal that ultimately failed. In January, Rep. Frost also introduced a bill, H. 3503, that would repeal the state’s tobacco tax, which is currently 30% of the wholesale price. That bill currently sits with the Joint Committee on Revenue.
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