WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Board of Health on Monday agreed to ask South County's Tri-Town Health Department to review the town's tobacco regulations with an eye toward recommending changes to bring them into alignment with state law.

 

"Back in 2019, the state updated comprehensive state regulations relative to tobacco control, which put some local regulations out of sync with state law," Tri-Town Executive Director James Wilusz told the board at its monthly meeting.

 

The intervening COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 had a lot of municipal health departments focused on that issue rather than reconciling their local ordinances with the latest decrees from Boston.

 

"As we're starting to get back on track, our program is helping Boards of Health reconcile what they have on the books with state law," Wilusz said. "We're trying to merge state law into your local policy. That makes it easier for your health agent, and it makes it easy for merchants."

 

Wilusz said the city of Pittsfield has updated its regulations, and the Tri-Town agency, a partnership of Lee, Lenox and Stockbridge, will be working with North Adams to do the same.

 

One of the big changes statewide in 2019 is that municipalities are now required to suspend a tobacco seller's license for at least one day for the first incidence of selling tobacco to a minor, and fines are now $1,000 for the first offense. The current town code lists a first offense fine at $100 and does not mention a suspension until the second offense.

 

In answer to a question from a board member, Wilusz said that businesses who are fined after a compliance check coordinated by Tri-Town's Tobacco Awareness Program generally have paid the heftier penalties.

 

"We've had a handful of appeals … but our program is pretty rock solid," he said. "The youth [agents] do what they're supposed to do. Most of the appeals have backed off and paid the fine."

 

A significant enforcement issue for the local agency has been retailers illegally selling tobacco products that are banned in Massachusetts but available in other states, Wilusz said.

 

"We're seeing significant activity of black market stuff going on here, which is hard for us to get our hands on," he said. "Stores are still selling menthols, which is illegal in the state. We're working with the Department of Revenue on that."

 

Wilusz explained that Tri-Town compliance checks are generally limited to looking at what is visible on a retail floor. The DOR has more capacity to determine whether businesses are selling contraband under the table.

 

As for the local ordinances in Williamstown, Health Inspector Jeff Kennedy told the board that the town code last was done in 2014 and is out of date in places. For example, he said the town code allows for flavored tobacco products where state law does not.

 

"It might be time to update them," Kennedy said.

 

Wilusz said that if the board wanted, his agency would evaluate the town code and provide a draft of changes for the board to consider implementing.

 

On a unanimous vote, the board approved taking that step.

 

In other business on Monday, Kennedy informed the board that the town had received a couple of requests to sell "temperature controlled" prepared foods that are produced in residential kitchens at the Williamstown Farmers Market that opens for the season on Saturday, May 16, in the municipal parking lot on Spring Street.

 

Kennedy explained  that while "shelf stable" prepared foods like jams, jellies and breads, can and are prepared in residential kitchens for sale at farmers markets, temperature-controlled foods, like a casserole, need to be prepared in a commercial kitchen unless the seller receives a variance from their board of health of origin.

 

"Talking to my colleagues, because of what you have to go through for a variance, I'm not sure a Board of Health would grant such a variance," Kennedy said in a meeting available for view on the town's community access television station, Willinet.

 

People wishing to produce such foods in their homes need to develop critical control point plans and document sanitization throughout the cooking process, Kennedy said.

 

"I would suggest to people that maybe they find a commercial kitchen that would allow them to produce their product," he said. "There are some kitchens throughout the county that basically lease themselves for a certain period of time so people can do this in a commercial kitchen atmosphere and meet the requirement."

 

In response to a question from a board member, Kennedy clarified that anyone selling a processed food at the farmer's market needs to have a license from his office, and the Williamstown Farmers Market managers are aware of that requirement. In addition, each year he inspects the market during its operation.