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Proposed Tobacco Ban Fires Up Citizens Of Small Massachusetts Town

Published November 13, 2014 at 1:50 PM EST

The idea that Westminster, Massachusetts would be the first town in the country to ban the sale of all tobacco and nicotine products lit a fire under residents at a public meeting Wednesday night.

Nearly 500 of them turned out – most of them calling the board of health’s proposal an act of too much “big government.” The meeting got so out of hand that it had to be cut short and its chairwoman led out of the building by police.

New England Public Radio’s Jill Kaufman was there and has this report.

Guest

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

In this photo illustration the owner of a shop that sells electronic cigarettes demonstrates how to use one on March 1, 2012 in Berlin, Germany. The German government has announced that it classifies the liquids used in electronic cigarettes as pharmaceuticals because the liquids contain nicotine, and that sale of the liquids requires certification. An estimated 1.2 to 2 million people in Germany use electronic cigarettes, and the retailers that sell the liquids now face the problem that they are breaking the law. Electronic cigarettes have thus far been in a legal grey area with some lawmakers pushing for conclusive studies to determine their potential health effects. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
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In this photo illustration the owner of a shop that sells electronic cigarettes demonstrates how to use one on March 1, 2012 in Berlin, Germany. The German government has announced that it classifies the liquids used in electronic cigarettes as pharmaceuticals because the liquids contain nicotine, and that sale of the liquids requires certification. An estimated 1.2 to 2 million people in Germany use electronic cigarettes, and the retailers that sell the liquids now face the problem that they are breaking the law. Electronic cigarettes have thus far been in a legal grey area with some lawmakers pushing for conclusive studies to determine their potential health effects. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

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Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Donate