BOSTON (WHDH) - The Boston City Council began discussing a possible ban on small liquor bottles known as “nips” on Monday, with critics arguing that the focus is on the wrong issue.
According to some councilors, the more significant issue is discarded syringes.
“Someone unsuspectingly, a child, stepping on this, or one of our law enforcement or public safety or public health professionals getting pricked by one of these, that obviously causes a whole other type of trauma and hysteria as opposed to seeing a discarded single on the ground or a bottle that can’t be recycled,” said Councilor Michael Flaherty
Supporters say a bottle ban would be a big benefit for Boston.
“We have seen proliferation of these singles and nips on the streets, in parks,” said Councilor Ricardo Arroyo, who brought the idea before the council. “The number that we are probably looking at, in terms of total number of these just on the streets, is in the hundreds of thousands here in Boston.”
Other cities and towns across Massachusetts including Chelsea, Newton, Falmouth, Wareham and Mashpee have banned the sale of nips locally.
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