thecrimson.com – 6 de Febrero de 2015 – UK
The Cambridge City Council passed amendments to the Tobacco Ordinance last week that raise the age to legally purchase tobacco in Cambridge from 18 to 21, while also designating more public spaces as smoke-free and placing limits on the use of electronic cigarettes, according to Cambridge City Councillor Marc C. McGovern.
The Public Health Department followed its initial proposal in October with two options for the amendments in December, and the Council ultimately favored Option B with additional changes. The changes include that e-cigarettes will not be allowed in restaurants and that fenced in “tot lots”—areas where children play—and tot lots at Clement Morgan Park and Raymond Park will become smoke-free areas, McGovern wrote in an email.
The amendment to the ordinance will not take effect until June 2015 in order to give businesses notice of the new policy. Businesses will be required to check for age verification to sell tobacco to anyone under the age of 26.
Although e-cigarette smoking will be banned inside restaurants, smoking that involves hookah or water pipes will be allowed in outdoor restaurant seating if the area does not reside on a public sidewalk, according to an exemption in the ordinance amendments.
Only retail tobacco stores may sell flavored tobacco under the approved amendments.
“This is going to be one of the most significant public health decisions we’ve made,” McGovern said in an interview Wednesday.
McGovern said he hopes the ordinance will limit smoking by 16- and 17-year-olds in Cambridge.
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