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Alaska committee hears competing views on raising tobacco age, 25% e‑cigarette sales tax; amendment deadline set
Summary
The Senate Labor and Commerce Committee heard testimony for and against Senate Bill 24, which would raise the minimum purchase age for tobacco and nicotine products from 19 to 21 and impose a 25% point‑of‑sale tax on e‑cigarettes. The committee set an amendment deadline and left the bill for future consideration.
The Senate Labor and Commerce Committee heard competing testimony March 3 on Senate Bill 24, which would raise the minimum age to buy tobacco and nicotine products from 19 to 21 and impose a 25% sales tax on electronic cigarette products at the point of purchase.
Proponents told the committee the changes would reduce youth initiation and provide funding for prevention programs; opponents said the bill would push customers to an unregulated black market and harm small retailers.
Senator Bjorkman, chair of the committee, opened the session and asked Tim Wyomkin, staff to Senator Stevens, to summarize the bill. Wyomkin said the bill would “raise the age restrictions for purchase, possession, [and] sales of tobacco and nicotine products from age 19 to age 21” and add a 25% sales tax on e‑cigarette and vaping products.
Youth and public‑health witnesses urged passage. Roe Armstrong, co‑president of Youth Encouraging Alaskans Health (YEAH), said education is the “number one form of prevention” and supported using tax revenue to expand youth prevention programs, particularly in rural villages. Dr. Jen Griffiths, vice president of policy and advocacy at Alaska Children’s Trust, told the committee that aligning the state minimum purchase age with federal statute and taxing vaping products would reduce youth access and fund education. Carrie Nisen, senior director of advocacy for the American Lung Association, described health risks she attributed to e‑cigarettes and urged lawmakers to raise the legal age and establish consistent taxation.
Several Anchorage residents and prevention workers also testified in support. Valeria Delgado Lopez described reports of vaping reaching elementary grades in some schools and urged lawmakers to back the bill. Aaron Osterback, who works in prevention and said he is a father of three, told the committee that e‑cigarette incidents were a leading cause of suspensions in the Anchorage School District and argued that education funded by taxes could reduce initiation and addiction.
Small‑business testimony opposed aspects of the bill. Brad Boddicker, owner of Eagle River Chevron, said a proposed nicotine cap in the bill “would effectively ban 75% of the regulated e‑vapor market in Alaska” as written, force him to remove many federally legal products from shelves, and make legal products less price‑competitive compared with unregulated goods. Alex McDonald, a former smoker who said vaping helped him quit cigarettes, said taxing vape products could push some former smokers back to combustible tobacco and questioned the policy trade‑offs.
Witnesses cited research and state data during testimony. Dr. Griffiths referenced Kids Count 2024 and a 17% prevalence figure for e‑cigarette use among Alaska high‑school students; other witnesses referenced studies on price sensitivity and taxation effects on youth initiation.
After testimony, the committee set an amendment deadline for Senate Bill 24 at 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 5, and placed the bill aside for further consideration at a future meeting. No committee vote on the bill occurred at this hearing.
Votes at this hearing: none. The committee recorded no formal passage or defeat of SB 24; instead it set a deadline for amendments and continued consideration.
