NECSEMA, the New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association, is noting concerns from convenience retailers about the Groton Board of Health’s proposal to move all nicotine pouch sales to adult-only stores.

According to a public notice, members of the Groton Board of Health will review the proposal among others at a meeting tonight, October 7 at 6:30 p.m.

According to a press release, “If approved, the change in local tobacco regulations would prohibit local convenience stores and gas stations from selling nicotine pouches to their adult customers who often purchase the less harmful products to curb or stop their use of traditional cigarettes,” NECSEMA said.

NECSEMA and the retail community said they oppose the measure for several stated reasons, including:

• Removing nicotine pouches from gas stations and convenience stores in Groton will create a substantial hardship on adult nicotine users.
• Oral nicotine pouches are considered less risky products than many other tobacco products, and adult consumers are adopting them to replace, in whole or in part, their use of tobacco products higher on the continuum of risk recognized by the FDA.
• Discouraging nicotine pouch use by removing them from most retailers frustrates this adult movement from higher risk to lower risk tobacco and nicotine products.
• Fewer than two out of 100 (1.8%) youth nationwide report using a nicotine pouch in the last 30 days. More than three times (6.3%) that number report using marijuana. This proposal is attempting to fix a problem that doesn’t exist.
• It does nothing to address under-age youth use of nicotine and tobacco products.

A similar meeting is taking place with the Needham Board of Health tomorrow, Tuesday, October 8 at 6:30 p.m., to discuss a proposed ordinance that would forever bar the sale of nicotine products to anyone born on or after January 1, 2004.

NECSEMA said that it and convenience store owners “are once again calling on members of the Needham Board of Health to reconsider advancing” the proposal.

“According to a public notice, members of the Needham Board of Health will receive a presentation about a proposed bylaw modeled after a controversial measure in Brookline, Massachusetts at the meeting … Citizens interested in commenting on the proposed policy in-person or online will be allowed three minutes to speak at the beginning of the meeting,” according to the press release.

A similar measure regarding tobacco age sales passed by the town of Brookline was affirmed by the state Supreme Judicial Court in March. The court’s ruling has “set in motion a domino effect whereby communities across Massachusetts like Needham can adopt generational bans on nicotine products within their city limits,” said NECSEMA.

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