Citywide bans on smoking in restaurants and bars have been implemented in various metropolises coast to coast, big  and small, from Chicago, IL to Manhattan, KS. Last Thursday, the Boston Public Health Commission took the tobacco fight a step further and passed the Tobacco Regulation Amendment. The regulation bans the sale of all tobacco products on college campuses and requires all cigar and hookah bars in Boston to close their doors within the next ten years. Additionally, Boston pharmacies are no longer allowed to sell tobacco products and no new cigar and hookah bars will be permitted to open. Critics of the ban say government interference in private business is a violation of their rights. Cambridge Citizens for Smokers’ Rights founder Stephen Helfer told Boston University’s Daily Free Press, “This is an incremental step towards complete tobacco prohibition and an attempt to criminalize the 40 million Americans who smoke.”

More from Boston University’s Daily Free Press
More reactions to local smoking bans from The Miami Student
More from the K State Collegian