Ways and Means hears HB 290 to raise cigarette and e‑cigarette taxes and study nicotine levies

Concord ' The House Ways and Means Committee opened public testimony on HB 290 on Oct. 12, 2025, a bill introduced by Rep. Jerry Stringham that would raise New Hampshire's cigarette excise tax by $1 per pack and revise e‑cigarette taxation while directing the Legislature to study taxes and regulation of other nicotine products.

Rep. Jerry Stringham, state representative for Grafton District 3, said he considers the measure “first as a public health bill” and described the proposal as raising the cigarette tax from the current $1.78 per pack to $2.78 and moving New Hampshire toward parity on vaping taxes. "Nicotine use and addictions robs our citizens of actual years and quality years of life," Stringham said when introducing HB 290.

The bill draws sharply different responses from public‑health groups, retailers and the vaping industry. Nancy Vaughn, government relations director for the American Heart Association, told the committee the AHA supports “a minimum of $1 per pack for tax on cigarettes” and urged raising e‑cigarette taxes to parity with other tobacco products so price signals reduce youth use. Michael Rollo, director of government relations for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, said the society's revenue modeling and public‑health analysis support a substantial tax increase: "If you do a dollar increase, $49,700,000, almost $50,000,000 in additional revenue through this, this tax increase," Rollo told lawmakers, and he noted about…