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The Board approved a 3-2 waiver allowing Noamesco to operate as a smoking bar at its current location and unanimously asked staff to study whether regulations should distinguish smoking bars from retail tobacco stores.
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The Board’s vote allows Noamesco to operate as a smoking bar despite the existing 500-foot rule. Members also directed the Worcester Division of Public Health to examine whether retail stores should be regulated differently from smoking bars, a process staff said could require research, legal review, public hearings, and regulatory changes. Staff reported that Worcester’s tobacco retailer density has fallen 5%, from 234 permits in 2023 to 222 in August 2025.
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