April was a strong month for the anti-tobacco movement in Massachusetts as a number of cities and towns increased the minimum purchase age from 18 to 21-years old, including North Attleborough. The town’s board of health unanimously approved the increase at its meeting last Tuesday, with the change going into effect on June 1. It was the same day that Norfolk approved its increase. The board approved escalating fines of $100, $200 and $300 for each time a retailer sells tobacco to a person under 21, while a fourth violation could possibly bring the retailer in front of the board with the threat of having their tobacco license revoked, according to a report in the Sun Chronicle. In addition to North Attleborough and Norfolk, Carver, Tewksbury, North Adams, Essex, Plainville and Marblehead all increased the minimum age to purchase tobacco in April, while the Massachusetts State Senate approved a statewide increase in the tobacco purchasing age to 21-years-old. Middleborough was the lone town to defeat an age increase proposal last month. North Attleborough is located in the southern part of the state, 15 miles northeast of Providence, R.I. and approximately 40 miles southwest of Boston. It is home to an estimated 28,712 residents as of ...
↧