MINNEAPOLIS -- On November 12, I witnessed democracy in action in Westminster, Mass. The civics lessons taught in schools were on full display when a gymnasium filled to capacity with some 500 local townspeople and representatives from their seven retail stores seemingly acted with one voice in opposing a first of its kind total tobacco sales ban proposed by the Westminster Board of Health.
What happened in that school gymnasium demonstrated that freedom and the right to sell a legal product can overcome an agenda being advanced by a few elected officials who want to usher in a new era of prohibition.
When Westminster Board of Health Chairperson Andrea Crete opened the public hearing, she cautioned the audience not to applaud after each speaker or to speak out of turn. As the testimony from residents began, the crowd applauded or shouted encouragement after each of the first several speakers. One of the speakers was a member of the Westminster Board of Selectmen (the town council). This member stated that the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to oppose the adoption of the tobacco sales ban by the Board of Health.
When the crowd continued to exercise their right to show support for the person speaking by applauding, Chairperson Crete announced that the public hearing was closed after just three people out of 70 who signed up to speak were allowed to testify.
The justification given by the Westminster Board of Health members to pursue a ban on the sale of all tobacco products was to have a “more even playing field if they banned all sales of tobacco products and nicotine delivery products in town” and that it would be “fairer to ban all sales of tobacco in the town if that is legal.” A complete ban on the issuance of retail tobacco permits to Westminster retailers does not create a level playing field, but eliminates the playing field in its entirety. To claim that taking away a retailer’s right to sell a legal product is somehow “fairer” defies logic when doing so makes Westminster an island of prohibition and forces residents to travel a short distance to a nearby town to buy tobacco products.
Moreover, the absence of any scientific data or evidence that banning the sale of all tobacco products in Westminster will somehow protect the public health, the compliance of Westminster retailers with current laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to minors, the intent of adult residents to travel to neighboring towns to continue to purchase tobacco products, the unwillingness of the Board of Health to consider adopting less restrictive regulations, and the preference of the health board members to not carry out their regulatory duties, all demonstrated that the proposed tobacco sales ban was unreasonable, not supported by the facts, and not rationally related to a purported purpose of protecting the public health.
In that school gym, retail businesses and the jobs they produce were saved from economic devastation by the determination of Westminster residents to protect their town, their local businesses, and their individual rights.
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