Years after its law prohibiting residents of a certain age was challenged, Brookline’s tobacco-free generation bylaw was upheld by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, town administrator Chas Carey announced Friday.
In its ruling, the court found that communities have “considerable latitude” in enacting local bylaws and Brookline’s incremental approach to prohibit tobacco sales was allowed by the state law that raised the age to buy tobacco to 21, Carey said in a town statement.
Only if there is a “sharp conflict” will a court invalidate a local bylaw, but no conflict was found with Brookline’s age-limited bylaw.
