Concord Board of Health advances updates to body‑art rules and a tobacco‑free generation regulation for public hearing

The Concord Board of Health on Sept. 23 voted to post for public hearing draft amendments to the body‑art regulation and a proposed "tobacco‑free generation" regulation.

Public Health Director Melanie Deneen told the board the body‑art edits include adding the explicit statement that "tattooing may not be performed under the age of 18," a provision she described as consistent with state law. She also proposed removing a fixed fee table from the regulation and delegating fee‑setting to the town manager with board approval, allowing fee adjustments without repeatedly amending the regulation. Finally, Deneen said the fines section would align with Massachusetts law and set a per‑violation, per‑day penalty structure (tiered examples discussed included $100, $200 and $300 amounts).

Deneen said the prior language had omitted explicit fee amounts and that staff would notify affected establishments and allow them to appeal fines to the board. She described enforcement practice as typically giving businesses time to comply, issuing orders to correct deficiencies and applying fines only if the business fails to act.

Separately, the board considered a draft "tobacco‑free generation" regulation that would phase out tobacco sales by birth cohort (described by the director as a measure that would prevent people who turn 21 after a specified date from purchasing tobacco products). The board voted to publish the draft rules and schedule public hearings at the next meeting to solicit retailer and public comment.

Both regulatory items were posted to begin the public‑notice and hearing process; no final regulatory changes were adopted at the meeting.