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Home My WebLink AboutBUZBY EMAIL 04_07_2026fr outlook Fw: February 21,2026 Barnstable Patch From Lewis, Barry < BLewis@yarmouth.ma.us> Date Wed 2026-04-08 1206 PM To Boskey Hillard <hillard.boskey@gmail.com>; Provos, Sara < S provos@yarmouth.ma.us > & 1 attachment (29 KB) Barnstable NFG Letter Response.docx; Some NFG information. We will also add this to our NFG file Barry From: Buzby, Maureen <mbuzby@cityofmelrose.org> Sent: Tuesday, Apri 7, 20261122 PM To: Lewis, Barry <BLewis@yarmouth.ma. us> Subject: February 21,2026 Barnstable Patch Attention!: This email originates outside of the organization. Do not open attachments or click links unless you are sure this email is from a known sender and you know the content is safe. Call the sender to verify if unsure. Otherwise delete this email. Hi Barry, Not sure if you have already seen this. DPH epidemiologists shared this with me in response to the letter that appeared in a Barnstable news outlet a month or so ago. Please feel to share. Best, Maureen < -WRD0001jBg> Tobacco MA As-it-happens update Febtuary 21 . 2026 NEWS Letter: Barnstable Needs To Think Twice About Nicotine-Free Pro oosal - Patch Patch Given the Massachusetts lllegal Tobacco Task Force's flndings after the statewide flavor ban, what is the Town's plan to prevent illicit product ... < -WRDO oo >Pg > q&s as rrrerevant0001.i You have received this email because you have subscribed to Google Alerts Unsubscribe <-WRD0001 .jpg>Recoive this atert as RSS teed Send Feedback MELROSE PUBLIC RECORDS NOTICE: Please be advised that the Massachusetts Attorney General has determined that email is a public record unless the content of the email falls within one of the stated exemptions under the Massachusetts Pu b c Records Laws **** .*.C|TY OF I!'lELROSE PUBLIC RECORDS NOTICE: Please be advised that the Massachusetts Attorney General has determined that email is a public record unless the content of the email falls within one of the stated exemptions under the Massachusetts Public Records Laws.**** Barnstable is being asked to adopt a policy with no demonstrated record of reducing youth nicotine use in municipal settings across the United States. Research consistently shows that youth experimentation begins long before legal purchase age, driven primarily by social sources. Shifting the legal age for a single birth cohort does not address these underlying patterns. A permanent generational prohibition should be supported by clear evidence of effectiveness, as well as proof that it does not create new risks, such as increased illicit access or product substitution. At present, this evidence does not exist. About 1in 6 high school students (17.1%) currently uses a tobacco product (including cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, and vape products) (Massachusetts Youth Health Survey Data 2023). lnnovative and new policies will be needed to end the sale of tobacco. We might not have the same evidence-base and data needed for all policies going forward. According to Massachusetts Youth Health Survey data, youth most frequently access tobacco and nicotine products through social sources. However, over time, this policy aims to reduce youth access to tobacco through social sources, as they will have fewer peers close to their age who can legally buy tobacco products. lf research says NFG is best combined as a comprehensive approach, MA does have a lot of state protections in place that this may supplement. Massachusetts has already seen this after the 2020 flavor ban. Vape seizures jumped from 71,746 units in 2022 to 308,100 units in 2024, a 329 percent surge. One law enforcement report cited a 21,000 percent increase in illicit activity since the ban began. State police seizures rose from 1,326 vapes to 279,432 in a single fiscal year. . The FY25 lllegalTobacco Task Force report includes a footnote on the FY24 data point for state police seizures of vape products: " The significant increase in ENDS seizures by the State Police duringFY24 was due mostly to a single large seizure and is not indicative of an increase in seizures across the Commonwealth": httos://www.ma ss.gov/doc/task- fo rce-fv2 5-an nu al-re port/download NFG removes a significant revenue stream without offering transition support or mitigation measures. Revenue impact to retailers is over time and is not d rastica lly/im med iately changed beca u se of th is policy This policy does not restrict anyone who can currently buy tobacco from being able to continue to buy - it only restricts those who have never been able to buy tobacco, so it should not create demand that does not currently exist or exacerbate illegal sales. Simllar concerns were raised when Massachusetts passed a statewide flavored tobacco restriction policy. MTCP worked with economists to assess whether flavored tobacco restrictions in MA and nearby states had an impact on tobacco retailers, Using data from 2014 to 2023, economists examined the effects of restrictions on the sales of menthol cigarettes and flavored vape products for all states in the Northeast Region of the United States (Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode lsland, Vermont, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania). They examined the effects on: The number of tobacco stores, convenience stores, and convenience stores with gas stahons, The number of employees working in these stores, and the inflation-adjusted average weekly wages paid to employees. o a c After adjusting for per-capita income; geographic region; COVID restrictions; seasonality, and trends in establishments; employees; and wages over time, results from statistical models showed no evidence that flavored tobacco sales restrictions have a negative effect on: The number of stores that sell tobacco products, The number of employees, and the wages paid to employees. Full rep ort here: https://www. m ass eov/doc/the-effects-of-tobacco-fl avor- restrictions-on-tobacco-retail-businesses-in-m assachusetts-and-states-in-the- Lack of Due Process and participation: A lifetime policy affecting an entire generation of future adults warrants a more rigorous process than what has occurred to date. An equity impact review an enforcement feasibility assessment, and meaningful consultation with minority business owners are necessary before such a regulation is advanced. o Policies are driven by community momentum and rocar Boards of Heartho Boards of Hearth host pubric hearings for residents to vorce support or concerns aboutpolicy ' MTCP encourages any community interested in NFG (or any point-of-sare tobacco poricy)to tark to MTCp's poricy technicar assistance providers about best practices forincorporating the policy in local regulations, and about how to conduct a health equityassessment to gather pubric feedback and ensure residents and community r"n.barcare included in the policy process. north east.region-of-the-u n ited - sta tes/d ow n load 6?Outlook Fw: February 21,2026 Barnstable Patch From Lewis, 8arry < BLewis@yarmouth.ma.us> Date Wed 2026-04-08 12:06 PM To Boskey Hillard < hillard.boskey@gmail.com >; Provos, Sara <SProvos@yarmouth.ma.us> 0 1 attachment (29 KB) Barnstable NFG Letter Response.docx; Some NFG information. We will also add this to our NFG file Barry From: Buzby, Maureen <mbuzby@cityofmelrose.org> Sent; Tuesday, April 7,2026 7:22 PM To: Lewis, Barry <BLewis@yarmouth,ma.us> Subiect: February 21,2026 Barnstable Patch Attention!: This email originates outside of the organization. Do not open attachments or click links unless you are sure this email is from a known sender and you know the content is safe. Call the sender to verify if unsure. Otherwise delete this email. Hi Barry, Not sure if you have already seen this. DPH epidemiologists shared this with me in response to the letter that appeared in a Barnstable news outlet a month or so ago. Please feel to share. Best, Maureen < -WRDOO 01.i oo> Tobacco tt/A As-it-happens update F ebtuaty 21, 2026 NEWS Letter: Barnstable Needs To Think Twice About Nicotine-Free proplsal: fabh_ Patch Given the MassachusetG lllegal robacco Task Force's findings after the stalewide flavor ban. what is the Town's plan to prevent illicit product... How will inspectors apply a birth-year prohibition consistently when two adults of the same age may be treated differently under law? What protections will be in place to safeguard small retailers from penalties related to honest lD verification mistakes? Retailers in communities with NFG policies will only need to remember one birth date for the duration of the policy, instead of having to change this date daily to determine whether or not someone is over 21. Therefore, enforcement of NFG policies should be easier for reta ilers. When a NFG policy (or any point-of-sale policy) is passed, local board of health inspectors conduct education visits and share educatron packets with retailers that contain all dates and important information about the policy and enforcement. After doing education visits, inspectors will offer retailers warnings if a violation is found prior to adm in istering a fine.