The Revere Board of Health held its regular monthly meeting last Thursday, August 25, in the City Council Chambers. The chairperson, Dr. Drew Bunker, and fellow members Dr. Craig Costanza and Nezha Louaddi were on hand for the meeting, as well as Lauren Buck, the Director of Public Health; Michael Wells, the Health Agent/Director of Inspectional Services; and Paula Sepulveda, the board’s Administrative Assistant. Although the meeting proved to be short (less than 20 minutes), the board accomplished the major goal of rewriting the city’s tobacco regulations to bring them into conformity with new state laws and regulations. The city’s new regulations address the sale of vaping products, rolling papers, and so-called blunt wraps, which are whole tobacco leaves designed to be filled with other tobacco products similar to rolling a cigar. The new regulations also make clear that a permit for the sale of tobacco that is turned in by a seller (who does not sell his business to another businessperson) will reduce the overall number of tobacco sales permits available in the city. In addition, there can be no new permits for the sale of tobacco products within 500 feet of a school. The regulations codify the progressive system of fines and suspensions for businesses that sell to underage minors. The sale of tobacco products to an underage person will bring a fine of $1000 and a suspension for three consecutive business days for a first offense; a fine of $2000 and a suspension for seven days for a second offense; and a fine of $5000 and a suspension for 30 or 60 days for a third offense. The board had discussed the proposed new regulations at a public hearing at its July meeting. Buck put them into final form over the course of the past month and presented them to the board for the formal step of adopting the new regulations at this month’s meeting. There was no discussion by the board prior to the vote and the members voted 3-0 to approve the new regulations. “We went through this extensively at the last meeting,†noted Bunker. The board also discussed the matter of the upcoming “National Suicide Prevention Week,†which the city will observe from September 4-10. Bunker read aloud the city’s proclamation issued by Mayor Brian Arrigo. Suicide is the 12th leading cause of death in the U.S., but is the third-leading caue of death for teens between the ages of 10-19 and the second-leading cause of death for those between the ages of 20-34. There were 618 deaths by suicide in Massachuetts in 2021 and more than 45,000 deaths by suicide across the country in 2021. More than 90 percent of suicide victims have diagnosable and treatable mental health issues, which makes suicide a largely-preventable problem. Buck presented her monthly communicable disease report. She highlighted that confirmed monkeypox cases in the city have totaled three. She also noted that although monkeypox is most prevalent among men who have sex with men, it can be transmitted by any close sexual contact. “Monkeypox is not like COVID,†noted Buck. “It spreads mainly by close contact with those who have monkeypox rash lesions or bodily fluids.†Buck noted that as for COVID-19, the confirmed daily case count presently is 16, but that the positivity rate is increasing, similar to other communities. Wells presented his monthly report, which revealed a busy month for the city’s Inspectional Services Division (ISD). There were 56 certificates of fitness for apartments issued by his department and there were 25 complaints received from tenants. Wells said that the department issued 49 violations for outdoor littering and garbage. He also noted that there were 46 violations for improper placemet of bulky items and 261 for improper placements of garbage and trash. There also were five violations for work being performed on a property without a building permit. The ISD also completed a large number of restaurant food safety inspections. The board approved two license requests for a Body Art Individual Practitioner License by Blanca E. Soto Lenis and for a Body Art Establishment License by Lakshmi Beauty Inc., which is Soto-Lenis’s business entity. Buck said that the establishment had been inspected by her department prior to the meeting and it was fully-compliant with the city’s regulations.
