WESTMINSTER, Mass. -- Only a handful of people were able to speak on a proposal that could make Westminster, Mass., the first town in the nation to ban all sales of tobacco products when boos and shouts from the crowd shut down the public hearing Wednesday night, reported the Associated Press.
Emotions flared at the hearing, where about 500 people crowded into a Westminster Elementary school gymnasium. When one resident loudly pronounced himself "disgusted" that the board would make a proposal that infringed on personal choice, the crowd roared with approval, said a Boston Globe report.
Some among the audience of several hundred toted signs opposing the ban; some had participated in a rally earlier, said AP.
After shouting and clapping opponents of the ban repeatedly refused her requests to come to order, Board of Health chairperson Andrea Crete gaveled the hearing to a close just 25 minutes into it instead of taking comments.
"The crowd's getting out of control and the room's filled to capacity," she said. "We don't want any riots."
Crete and the two other board members were escorted out by police, and the crowd dispersed. She said the board would accept written testimony until December 1 and would vote later. She didn't specify a date.
"I'm disappointed that we didn't get to have the hearing," she said. "We're trying to save lives and prevent children from being future [tobacco] users."
The decision rests solely with the board, which said it is fed up with bubblegum-flavored cigars, electronic cigarettes and other new products that they believe appeal to young people. Board members said the easiest course of action is to enact a total ban on all sales within town lines.
Joyce McGuire, a Westminster resident and nonsmoker who opposes the ban, also was disappointed the hearing ended early. "I think people are really angry because they feel this is being shoved down their throats," she told AP.
The proposed ban has led to angry reactions from residents who worry that it will hurt the local economy and allow government too much discretion in controlling private conduct, the Globe said.
Shopkeeper Brian Vincent, whose country store on Main Street sells $100,000 worth of tobacco products a year, told the news agency that he has collected at least 900 signatures on a petition against the ban. He said smokers will simply make their purchases in other towns and probably buy their gas and groceries there as well.
"Having other adults decide what legal item we're not allowed to consume just makes you wonder: If this passes, what could be next? Sugar? Bacon?" he said.
Tobacco industry groups also have called the proposal a "bad policy" that would harm local employers.
Click here to read National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) executive director Thomas Briant's Tobacco E-News piece on how a ban would affect retailers.
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