Westminster Officials Shut Down Rowdy Hearing On Tobacco Ban After 20 Minutes

Health officials in the central Massachusetts town of Westminster say they will not hold another public hearing on their proposed first-in-the-nation town-wide ban on tobacco sales, after a rowdy crowd of hundreds forced Wednesday night's meeting to end in just 20 minutes.

Board members began the hearing with warnings that if the crowd couldn't remain calm and respectful, they would end the meeting.

The hearing was dominated by opponents of the ban, such as Westminster resident Kevin West.

"I find smoking to be one of the most disgusting habits anybody could possibly do. On top of that, I find this proposal to be even more of a disgusting thing that anybody could ever give any town in the United States of America," he said.

When repeated efforts to calm the crowd, which erupted into applause a number of times, failed, the meeting was ended and health board members were escorted out by police.

Instead of another meeting, the board will accept written comments through the end of the month.