Cigarettes Clients Age Limit Increased

Walpole’s Board of Health may consider upping the allowable age to purchase tobacco and cigarettes from 18 to 21 years old after hearing an area doctor’s plea Tuesday night. Dr. Lester Hartman, a physician at Westwood Mansfield Pediatrics, told the board he’s asking more than a dozen area towns to raise the age to curb teen tobacco use. “If we want to prevent addiction in children, this is what we need to do,” Hartman said. In October of 2010, Walpole was one of the first towns to ban the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products in pharmacies. Selectmen, police officers and school leaders are also focusing on youth substance abuse as of late, helping the coalition on drug and alcohol abuse take more initiative in the community. “As a town and board we’ve been very active in that area,” chairman Bill Morris said. Morris already expressed support for upping the age to 21. “I absolutely agree with you, and I don’t know very many adults who just decide to take up smoking,” Morris said. “It’s an intriguing concept.” The Board of Health will decide at its next meeting on Oct. 23 whether or not to open up Walpole’s tobacco regulations for change and to hold a public hearing early next year. After a public hearing, the Board of Health will have the final say in changing the age. Smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke are especially dangerous for children and teenagers, who go through crucial brain development, even at age 18. That means teens are more likely to form addictions than adults in their 20s, he said. “If we think long term, the theory is, if we prevent smoking before 21, it may reduce the potential for addiction early in life,” Hartman said. Many teens turn 18 during high school as well, which could lead to them buying cigarettes and selling them to their peers, Hartman said.