S18 targets tobacco and nicotine use reduction, particularly among youth, through extensive regulatory measures. The bill bans the retail sale of flavored cigarettes, e-cigarettes, e-liquids, tobacco substitutes, and specifically menthol-flavored tobacco products. It mandates that all retail sales of these products require a license, prohibits sales to individuals under 21, and bans vending machine and internet sales to non-licensed entities.
The Vermont Senate passed S18 on March 21, 2024 by a vote of 18 to 11. We have assigned minuses to the yeas because “public health,” including “anti-smoking initiatives,” is not the purpose of government. This bill follows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s unconstitutional and erroneous minimum-age requirements that deny to adult citizens younger than 21 years of age — who are both eligible to vote and enlist in the military — their right to purchase tobacco, electronic cigarettes, and alternative nicotine products. An individual’s non-injurious personal decisions over what they choose to eat, drink, or consume should not be criminalized, but instead considered private matters not under federal, state, or local jurisdiction.
