Court upholds town bylaw banning anyone born in 21st century from buying tobacco products

A Massachusetts town that adopted an unusual ordinance banning the sale of tobacco to anyone born in the 21st century is being looked at as a possible model for other cities and towns hoping to further clamp down on cigarettes and tobacco products.

The bylaw — the first of its kind in the country — was adopted by Brookline in 2020 and last week was upheld by the state’s highest court, opening the door for other communities to adopt similar bans that will, decades from now, eventually bar all future generations from buying tobacco.

The rule, which bans the sale of tobacco to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2000, went into effect in 2021 in the town of about 60,000 next to Boston.

Under a Massachusetts law signed by former Republican Gov. Charlie Baker in 2018, anyone under the age of 21 is already barred from purchasing any tobacco product — including cigarettes, cigars and e-cigarettes — in the state.