Proposed Tobacco Ban Fires Up Citizens Of Small Massachusetts Town

Published November 13, 2014 at 1:50 PM EST

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The idea that Westminster, Massachusetts would be the first town in the country to ban the sale of all tobacco and nicotine products lit a fire under residents at a public meeting Wednesday night.

Nearly 500 of them turned out – most of them calling the board of health’s proposal an act of too much “big government.” The meeting got so out of hand that it had to be cut short and its chairwoman led out of the building by police.

New England Public Radio’s Jill Kaufman was there and has this report.

Guest

Jill Kaufman, reporter for New England Public Radio. She tweets @JillK885NEPR.

In this photo illustration the owner of a shop that sells electronic cigarettes demonstrates how to use one on March 1, 2012 in Berlin, Germany. The German government has announced that it classifies the liquids used in electronic cigarettes as pharmaceuticals because the liquids contain nicotine, and that sale of the liquids requires certification. An estimated 1.2 to 2 million people in Germany use electronic cigarettes, and the retailers that sell the liquids now face the problem that they are breaking the law. Electronic cigarettes have thus far been in a legal grey area with some lawmakers pushing for conclusive studies to determine their potential health effects. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)