WILMINGTON — The sale of flavored tobacco will be prohibited in town should the Board of Health vote to approve proposed changes to its code of regulations.

There are currently 20 issued tobacco licenses in town, according to Health Director Shelly Newhouse. Only retail tobacco stores will be exempt from the proposed change, meaning Route 38 Smoke Shop would be the only establishment in town that could sell flavored tobacco products. Newhouse said every license holder was notified about the proposed changes.

Newhouse said the board has been considering the change for some time, and is following suit with what other towns have been enforcing. More than 100 other communities, like Lowell, Tewksbury and Tyngsboro, have already restricted sales of flavored tobacco products. Ultimately, Newhouse said, they are trying to curb the participation in vaping.

“We’ve had a lot of incidences in the school with young people vaping,” Newhouse said. “You can’t smoke on school grounds, so we’ve seen a shift in kids who get caught — instead of smoking cigarettes, they’re vaping.”

One proposed addition in the town’s health code of regulations states the following:

“Sale of Flavored Tobacco Products Prohibited: No person shall sell or distribute or cause to be sold or distributed any flavored tobacco product or nicotine delivery device, flavored or otherwise, except in retail tobacco stores.”

Another proposed change is that the Board of Health will not issue tobacco product sales permits to first-time permit applicants with a new business.

You must be 21 or older in Wilmington to purchase tobacco products, but that does not keep children from getting access to things like e-cigarettes.

“It’s kind of like alcohol. You have people that go into these shops and buy them and get them for kids,” Newhouse said. “But, if we can make it difficult to that that, that’s what we’re trying to accomplish. We’re just trying to keep these flavored tobacco products out of the hands of minors.”

According to Massachusetts Association of Health Boards (MAHB) data from 2011 to 2015, the smoking rate in Wilmington is considered “low” at 13.3 percent.

The Board of Health has scheduled a public hearing on the proposed changes for Tuesday, Aug. 7 at 5:45 p.m. at Town Hall. While Newhouse said she anticipates to hear from people on both sides of the issue, she has already heard from those in favor of the restriction. Newhouse said the proposed changes may be modified, but that the Board of Health will likely vote on the changes directly following the public hearing.

For more information, visit www.wilmingtonma.gov/health-department.

Follow Kori Tuitt on Twitter @KoriTuitt.