Advocates, researchers and school staff press House Human Services to tighten rules on deceptive nicotine products in S198

Advocates, a public-health researcher and school staff told the House Human Services committee that S198 would tighten regulation of nicotine products they say are designed to reach young people.

Jill Sudhoff Garren, representing the Coalition for Tobaccofree Vermont, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Vermont Medical Society, told members "this is not a bill to ban flavors" but rather an effort to close marketing and product-design loopholes that make electronic nicotine products (ENPs) easy for children to access and conceal. She said the bill would split Vermont’s combined alcohol-tobacco license into a tobacco-only license with a $150 fee, ban deceptive products and marketing aimed at youth, tighten wholesale licensing, and (if restored to the bill) fund an online compliance investigator to enforce the state’s online-sales ban.

"We are just seeing such an amazing array of these different nicotine products that are coming out right now," she said, showing images of products that look like toys or phones and citing a 2023 youth behavioral-risk survey in which 60% of kids said electronic vapor products are easy to get.

Jill also cited state health‑care costs for tobacco-related disease ("about $44 million annually in Vermont") and urged lowering the penalty for youth possession to $50 and adding a cessation alternative, saying punitive penalties deter students from seeking help.

Public health researcher Dr. Valante presented survey and retail-audit data. Using a convenience sample of about 300 Vermont teens and young adults (age 12–25), she said roughly a quarter of respondents reported past‑30‑day ENP use and that many teens report seeing vapor-product promotions in stores and other public settings (about 42–43% in her sample). She showed retail-audit images of gaming-style disposable devices and large flavored-product displays, and noted rising nicotine concentrations in newer products: "when we're looking at newer products ... Elf Bar: the product had about 650 milligrams of nicotine in that single product," she said. Dr. Valante emphasized that cessation resources — particularly text-message programs — are among the most scalable tools to help young users quit.

Matthew Minet, a school SAP at Champlain Valley Union High School, said students use nicotine to cope with anxiety and stress and that products are easy to conceal, often designed to look like everyday objects. He described families, school staff and students trying to block online deliveries and said access in the community remains a major barrier to reducing youth use. "Access remaining the biggest barrier," he testified, supporting licensing, online-sales restrictions, and restorative approaches instead of punitive school penalties.

Committee members asked about measurement and enforcement: how nicotine content is compared to cigarette packs, whether fines deter online sellers who can rebrand, and whether packaging restrictions (black‑and‑white labeling or graphic warnings used in other countries) are feasible. Witnesses recommended restoring the online‑compliance investigator, leveraging enforcement proceeds if available, and consulting the Department of Health and Attorney General’s office on specific language and enforcement mechanics.

Next steps: Committee members said they will hear from the Department of Health, the Attorney General’s office and other stakeholders in future sessions and continue drafting language; no votes or formal actions were recorded during this meeting.