Despite the widely recognized and proven benefits of tobacco harm reduction products, states across the country have been passing legislation intended to make it more difficult to obtain those products.  On April 3, 2024, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott vetoed S.18 which would ban the sale of products that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized, including tobacco harm reduction (THR) products, which are marketed as less harmful than traditional cigarettes, as well as flavored tobacco or nicotine products.  The governor should be praised for a commonsense approach to legislating tobacco harm reduction products, and other states should follow his lead.

In his statement regarding the veto, Gov. Scott noted that while he “struggled with this bill” and the state has “an obligation to protect our children,” there must be a balance between that need and the “rights and freedoms of adults to make decisions about their individual lives.”  He cited his signing of a bill in 2019 to raise the age to buy tobacco or e-cigarettes from 18 to 21; the legalization of cannabis, which despite risks to brain development in youth, no one is considering imposing a ban; and the sale of flavored alcohol products despite the impact of alcohol abuse on society.  He noted that, “from a purely practical point of view, these products would continue to be available widely just across the river in New Hampshire, and through online sales.”

Gov. Scott is right about the ineffectiveness of a flavor ban. On November 27, 2019, Massachusetts became the first state to permanently ban the sale of all flavored tobacco products.  The law also included a 75 percent excise tax on e-cigarettes.  The stated purpose was to stop an epidemic of youth vaping and prevent teenagers from beginning a lifetime of addiction.  The flavor ban not only failed to reduce consumer demand but also opened the door to illegal and unregulated sales which put consumers at risk.

According to a January 5, 2021, New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association press release, Massachusetts lost an estimated $73 million including sales taxes.  Cigarette excise tax stamp sales decreased by $17.7 million, or 23.9 percent, and cigarette excise tax losses were $61.9 million.  The state’s loss was its neighboring states’ gain.

Rhode Island gained $14 million including sales tax.  Cigarette excise tax stamp sales increased by $2.8 million, or 18.2 percent, and cigarette excise taxes increased by $12.1 million.  New Hampshire gained $16 million, or a 29.7 percent increase in cigarette excise tax stamp sales, and $28.6 million in cigarette excise taxes.

Implementing bans on legal products like Massachusetts has done and Vermont attempted to do will encourage illicit behavior.  Black markets will flourish as unscrupulous actors will purchase products in ban-free states and sell them illegally in the states that have banned THR products.  And China, which grows the most tobacco in the world, will continue to produce unregulated products for black market sales. 

The best way to stop youth from utilizing cigarettes or any tobacco product is not by restrictive legislation.  Instead, states should promote greater parental oversight and enforce the laws that are already on the books that hold retailers accountable and crack down on online sales to minors.