Nicotine-Free bills

Re: “Brennan: Generational nicotine ban exercise in overreach,” Dec. 17.

The nicotine industry is a threat to the health and safety of Massachusetts’ future, and the argument that Nicotine-Free Generation bills are a threat to civil liberties is a smokescreen for the industry to protect itself and its profits. I have been working in substance use prevention for over a decade, and I started my work as a youth activist championing tobacco-21 legislation. Now I work in a public health department and am getting my MPH from Boston University in Health Policy and Law. While the delivery method for nicotine has evolved over my years working in prevention, one thing has not changed: nicotine is nicotine.

Nicotine companies make billions of dollars a year selling a product that is highly addictive, and young people are their favorite demographic. The executives over at Philip Morris have put it very plainly, “today’s teenager is tomorrow’s potential regular customer, and the overwhelming majority of smokers first begin to smoke while still in their teens.” These industries know exactly what they are doing and who they are targeting. We need to protect the children of Massachusetts and ban nicotine products across the state.

Nicotine-Free Generation bills and ordinances are a national movement championed by public health experts and professionals to put protections in place for children’s safety. NGF bills vary across municipalities, but the general idea is that those born after a certain date, typically those who have yet to turn 21, will be unable to purchase nicotine products. While they are new in a sense, cities are already seeing a reduction in nicotine and tobacco usage. Brookline, which was the first city in the country to pass this legislation in 2021, has already seen a decrease in tobacco use among its high school students. According to Youth Risk Behavior Survey data, 30-day usage rates for tobacco have dropped from 5% in 2015 to 3% in 2023.

In 2018, the U.S. lost $600 million due to cigarette smoking. This includes $240 million in healthcare spending, as well as additional millions in lost productivity due to smoking-related deaths and illnesses. This is money that could be put towards schools, public parks, and building up communities, and instead it is simply seen as the cost of allowing the nicotine industry to run unchecked.

The reality is that these bills work at preventing young people from becoming dependent and addicted to nicotine, and that scares the nicotine industry. Half of the nicotine industry’s profits come from people who started smoking as children. This is why NFG bills are so important, because it reflects Massachusetts’ ability to stand up for children against a powerful lobbying force and industry.

Hannah Martuscello

Boston