MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Can a ban on flavored tobacco get across the finish line at the Vermont Statehouse, or will the yearslong effort go up in smoke? For going on five years, lawmakers have attempted to pass a ban on flavored tobacco, coming within reach last session after a bill to end the sale of flavored tobacco products passed the Senate, but fell short of the finish line in the House.
Senate Bill 18 would ban flavored tobacco products, including vapes, dip tobacco, and products containing menthol. Officials say it’s aimed at curbing nicotine addiction in young people.
“They deserve a chance to reach adulthood without being targeted for addiction by different corporations,” said Dr. Lauren Faricy, a pediatrician with the UVM Medical Center. She says teens with developing brains are more susceptible to nicotine addiction. “I wish I had a lot of great stories about helping young people successfully overcome nicotine dependence once they are moderately or severely addicted, but I really don’t. It’s far and few between.”
The bill’s sponsor, Senator Ginny Lyons, D-Chitteneden County, says the ban could save millions of dollars in treating heart disease long term. “Not just with economic health care costs but also costs about children developing normally,” she said.
But opponents say flavors, including menthol, have benefits. David Spross with the National Association of Tobacco, says there needs to be flavors for vapes to help smokers quit cigarettes. “I’m not saying e-cigarettes are risk-free — they’re not — but they don’t have the risk profile,” he said.
Vermont retailers say nearly 1,000 convenience and grocery stores sell tobacco and that depending on the store, the bill would mean $100,000 to $2 million in lost sales. Opponents also point out that young people only need to go online with their phones to buy what they want.
“For the sake of consumers, law enforcement, and the state as a whole, nicotine products must remain in the hands of regulated and legitimate businesses,” said V.J. Mayor with the Northeast Wholesalers Association.
The proposed ban is similar to those in Massachusetts and California. Sen. Lyons says it’s only taken years because of opposition from the tobacco lobby. “They have put a smokescreen up that has kept people from seeing objectively the importance of limiting access,” she said.
The FDA has already taken some steps to regulate products like flavored vape cartridges.
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