Source: Brownstone Institute
by Randall Bock
“In January 2025, Newton’s City Council passed an ordinance so absurd, it could only have been conceived by people who think authority equals wisdom. By a vote of 19 to 4, the Council approved a ‘generational ban’ on tobacco products. Anyone born after March 1, 2004, will never — ever — be allowed to purchase tobacco in the city. Not at 21, not at 35, not at 55. It’s a lifetime prohibition based solely on your birth year. Let that sink in: a 25-year-old veteran returning to Newton in 2030 could be carded and denied a cigarette because he was born three months too late. Meanwhile, his 31-year-old neighbor lights up with impunity. What starts as a health measure ends in age-based discrimination enshrined in law. … Indeed, Newton’s law bans everything with nicotine—whether it burns or not. Cigarettes. Vapes. Nicotine gum. Pouches. Even options that help people quit smoking are now outlawed for future generations.” (04/04/25)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-city-that-treats-adults-like-children/