Get the Facts – CounterBalance

Vermont’s Tobacco Laws Protect Everyone

Online Sales Restricted

Tobacco substitutes containing nicotine, including e-cigarettes, can only be sold by a retailer who is licensed or has purchased their products from a licensed wholesaler.

E-Cigarettes Taxed

Tobacco substitutes containing nicotine, including e-cigarettes, are subject to a 92% tax on the wholesale cost.

Age to Purchase Increased

Vermont raised the age to purchase tobacco products to 21. This includes cigarettes, e-cigarettes and any other tobacco substitute that contains nicotine.

105%

Sales of menthol and mint-flavored e-cigarettes shot up 105% after the FDA removed some flavored e-cigarettes from sale in 2020 (source, source).

Flavored Tobacco is Attractive and Dangerous for Youth and Young Adults

Young people are more likely than adults to use flavors (source).
Teens who first try tobacco using a vape are 3 times more likely to be a current  cigarette smoker within two years (source).
86% of young Vermonters who ever used an e-cigarette, first used started with a  flavored e-cigarette (source).
85% of e-cigarette users age 12-25 use flavored e-cigarettes (source).
The truth about both flavored tobacco and e-cigarette products is they usually
contain nicotine, which is addictive, toxic and can affect brain development  (source).
Flavored e-cigarette products contain toxic chemicals that can cause cancer and lung disease (source).

Mint and Menthol Flavors Are Legal and Dangerous

Sales of menthol and mint-flavored e-cigarettes shot up 105% after the FDA removed some flavored e-cigarettes from sale in 2020 (source, source).

Pulegone, which gives e-cigarettes the mint/menthol flavor, can cause liver toxicity and kidney disease (source, source).

Youth who try smoking menthol cigarettes first are more likely to progress to regular smoking than those who try smoking with non-menthol cigarettes (source, source).

Youth are three times more likely to smoke menthol cigarettes than adults (source).

Use of disposable e-cigarettes among youth was 10 times higher the year after the FDA cracked down on the sale of pre-filled flavor pods (source).

Youth who smoke menthol cigarettes report greater dependency on nicotine than non-menthol youth smokers (source).

Big Tobacco has a long history of targeting Black Americans with menthol cigarette advertising (source, source).

Flavored tobacco products especially menthol are promoted to target populations including at retail stores in Black neighborhoods and near schools (source).

The more often your children, teenagers and young adults are exposed to flavored tobacco products and advertising, the more likely they are to start using tobacco (source).

Vermont By The Numbers

18%

of all Vermont high school students have tried a flavored tobacco product (YRBS 2021).

30%

of all Vermont high school students who currently used electronic vapor products used them every day (YRBS 2021).

33%

of Vermont high school students have tried an electronic vapor product (YRBS 2021).

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Tobacco Retailers By The Numbers

Flavored tobacco products are accessible and affordable for youth according to the 2018 Counter Tools Store Audit Report. These products are often sold in close proximity to schools in Vermont, with 29% of schools being within 1,000 feet of a tobacco retailer. This is troubling as youth are more likely to start smoking when there are more tobacco retailers in a given area.

40%

of tobacco retail stores in Vermont sell  e-cigarettes.

86%

of Vermont tobacco retail stores sell flavored products.

49%

of Vermont tobacco retail stores offer tobacco product price promotions.

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