By Dakota Antelman — [email protected]
Concord convenience stores won’t have to pull nicotine products from their shelves, but they’ll be barred from selling them to young potential customers following a recent Board of Health vote.
After hearing public comments for and against the measure, the board on October 15 unanimously banned selling nicotine products to anyone born on or after January 1, 2004.
While some blasted the regulation, supporters called it a meaningful step in the fight against nicotine addiction.
“The effects of tobacco claim the lives of almost half a million Americans a year, and I think this is a move in the right direction,” Board of Health member Dottie Bernard said.
“This proposed Board of Health regulation is the only way that we can ensure a tobacco-free generation.”
Deborah Greene, former Concord Board of Health member
A patchwork in nearby towns
Because the Board of Health’s regulation affects only stores in Concord at the beginning of next year, people who turn 21 on or after January 1, 2025, can still travel elsewhere to shop for items containing nicotine.
However, Concord’s move follows similar measures in Brookline and a half-dozen other Greater Boston communities. And it comes as public health experts eye new strategies to curb nicotine use.
“It is not enough for us to ban menthol or flavors or specific products or devices,” said former Concord Board of Health member Deborah Greene during the board’s October 15 meeting. “The tobacco industry will always develop a new product, and they will always find a workaround.”
To that end, “This proposed Board of Health regulation is the only way that we can ensure a tobacco-free generation,” Greene said.
Opponents balk
Several sitting Board of Health officials, other community members, and public health experts backed the proposed regulation before the vote.
Opponents also spoke up, with convenience store owner Dan Patel questioning the ban’s fairness and efficacy.
Patel owns Concord Exxon on Route 2. If nicotine users have to travel farther for their purchases, he said, they may opt to buy in bulk — and larger purchases could lead to even more nicotine consumption.
“The more they have in front of them, the more they’re going to smoke,” Patel said. “The more you try to control it, you’re making matters worse.”
Alex Weatherall, president of the New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association, said he also opposed the regulation.
Peter Brennan, the association’s executive director, joined his colleague and said the rule would be “enormously harmful.” He said retailers could lose “the entire basket of goods” because a customer who wants to pick up nicotine items as part of their errands may also buy gas and other goods at the same out-of-town store.
“The more you try to control it, you’re making matters worse.”
Dan Patel, owner, Concord Exxon
A focus on prevention
Two days after the Board of Health approved its regulation, Patel — who said he grew up in Concord and has owned his store for 20 years — was still frustrated.
With neighboring communities not taking similar action, he suggested Concord’s regulation will be unsuccessful in limiting future addictions.
“What’s Concord going to do?” he said while manning the counter at Concord Exxon. “Nothing.”
Public Health Director Melanie Dineen told the Concord Bridge officials started discussing the new nicotine regulation in April. She said it’s focused on prevention, letting people who are already using nicotine continue to do so legally.
“This allows retailers to adjust their market in hopes that we can reduce the use of youth having access and becoming addicted to nicotine,” she told the Board of Health.
“This is one tool in a whole group of preventative measures.”
Concord Public Health Director Melanie Dineen
Said board chair Dr. Randy Kring, “I’m proud of the work we did on the Nicotine Free Generation regulation, and think it will improve the health of the people of Concord for generations to come.”
Though it won’t cut off access for young people who can travel to other communities, Dineen said the “Nicotine Free Generation” effort is not the only substance use prevention measure the town is undertaking. She said work statewide is also ongoing, and more regulatory changes could be on the way.
“This is one tool in a whole group of preventative measures. It’s not the only one we’re doing,” Dineen said.
“I think if more towns do this, it would become increasingly difficult [to buy nicotine].”

Go deeper: Targeting addictions
Concord’s new nicotine sales regulation fits alongside a suite of measures in town and beyond that aim to limit harmful substance use.
Before the pandemic, the Board of Health had considered a ban on flavored tobacco products. Though the local board tabled the ban in the pandemic’s early days, state officials soon enacted their own prohibition on flavored products across Massachusetts.
Public Health Director Melanie Dineen said officials updated Concord’s nicotine regulation in 2023, in part to reflect the state’s flavor ban. The town also hired a public health nurse and established substance use prevention as part of her job duties, according to Dineen.
Using money from settlements with opioid drugmakers and distributors, Dineen said officials are working to hire a regional substance abuse prevention coordinator to serve the Great Meadows Public Health Collaborative, which includes Concord, Bedford, Carlisle, Lincoln, Sudbury, Wayland, and Weston.
Dineen told the Bridge she hopes residents will fill out the town’s Community Health Assessment Survey, which includes questions about substance use.
As officials prepare to enforce the “Nicotine Free Generation Regulation,” Dineen said stakeholders are considering expanding the list of products prohibited under the state’s flavor ban.
“The real story is the rest of the work we’re doing, too,” Dineen said. “It’s not the only thing that’s happening, and it’s not intended to be the answer to all things.”
— Dakota Antelman
