Berlin Board of Health Backs Tobacco Coupon Ban, Rejects Distance and Cap Rules

BERLIN -- April 7, 2026, Berlin Board of Health advances tobacco regulation overhaul, banning coupons and free product giveaways while rejecting retailer distance limits. Working item by item through a draft regulatory checklist at the April 7 meeting, the board agreed to ban free tobacco product distribution and coupons, describing both as the same consumer recruitment tool, and set a cap of six milligrams of nicotine per pouch for oral nicotine products. Members declined to impose minimum distances between retailers, a cap on total tobacco permits, or a parallel local fine structure, preferring to retain the existing single set of state fines, $1,000, $2,000, and $5,000 for successive violations, which are already remitted to the town. The board flagged one item on the fine structure for clarification from town counsel, identified as Joan, who will draft the final regulation based on the checklist responses. The board also unanimously approved septic permits for two ADU conversion projects, at 32 Allen Road and 119 Sawyer Hill Road, and heard that the first wave of DEP-required landfill testing is complete, with a report expected to be filed with DEP in roughly three weeks; a successful closure determination would allow the town to pursue a solar installation on the otherwise unusable parcel.