WESTWOOD, Mass. - The Board of Health in Westwood is pushing the minimum wage to buy tobacco products up to 19, the Boston Globe reports.

The new rules also prohibit the sales of blunt wraps and commercial RYO cigarette machines, and the permit fee for vendors is increasing to $400. E-cigarettes will be included under the tightened regulations.

"Up until now, most communities only regulated tobacco products," said Linda Shea, the city??s director of health. Spurring the move was concern that minors would be attracted to flavored tobacco products wrapped in colorful, attractive packaging.

Retailers are the ones who suffer when individual towns make decisions such as changing the minimum age for tobacco purchases. "What??s to stop someone from going over the border to get cigarettes in another town?" asked Jeff Lenard, NACS spokesman. "If you think you can outsmart an 18-year-old, you don??t have kids. The law also has the ability to hurt retailers, and, ultimately, the tax base."

The city??s new regulations begin April 1, with retailers having until June 1 to comply. Meanwhile, Dr. Lester Hartman, a pediatrician, is pushing other Massachusetts localities, including Walpole and Sharon, to increase the legal smoking age to 21. Hartman said he views the Westwood decision to raise the minimum age to 19 as a "victory."

Other municipalities in the state with a higher minimum age for purchasing tobacco products include Arlington, Belmont, Needham and Watertown. Hartman is working with other groups to pressure the state to change the legal age to buy tobacco products to 21.

In 46 states, plus the Washington, D.C., the minimum smoking age is 18. Utah, New Jersey, Alaska and Alabama have a minimum smoking age of 19.