Public Smoking Laws, Secondhand Smoke

Drive by any downtown restaurant or bar on a busy night, and you'll see a group of customers near the entrance smoking. Stop into a pharmacy to pick up some cold medicine and you might see someone buying a pack of cigarettes. Go to an event in a private club and people sitting at the next table might be lighting up. Those scenarios would end if the city's Health Board adopts new public rules proposed for Haverhill. The board is considering regulations aimed at protecting the public from second-hand cigarette smoke by limiting where people can light up. Health Board member Peter Carbone said the new regulations are a work in progress and he expects changes once the board begins to gather public input and holds public hearings. He said the board announced its plans to stiffen smoking rules at its March meeting and will discuss a draft of the proposed new regulations May 8. "Health costs are rising. Smoking is a proven health hazard, as is second-hand smoking, so to protect the general health of the public we want to stiffen these regulations," Carbone said. "We used (the town of) Athol's bylaws as our model. That town's laws were challenged but were upheld by the court." Proposal targets young people, public areas Under Haverhill's proposed regulations, pharmacies would no longer be able to sell tobacco products. This would impact eight businesses in the city: Two Rite Aids, two Walgreens and four CVS stores.