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 30.6% of cancer deaths in New Hampshire are attributable to tobacco.

DRA fiscal estimates and limits of the analysis

Lauren O'Sullivan, senior financial analyst at the Department of Revenue Administration, described the agency's modeling approach. Using fiscal‑year 2024 sales, DRA estimated a $1 per pack increase to the cigarette stamp would generate roughly $87.5 million in additional revenue if sales volumes remained steady; DRA separately estimated about $3 million from the proposed wholesale e‑cigarette change. O'Sullivan emphasized the agency did not model changes in consumption or cross‑border purchasing in its baseline calculation.

How the bill would change taxes and the debate around methods

Stringham and several public‑health witnesses framed taxation as one of three tools (regulation, taxation and cessation) to reduce nicotine harm. The bill would: - Raise the cigarette excise tax by $1 per pack (from $1.78 to $2.78). - Replace the state's bifurcated vaping tax (currently 30'cents per milliliter for closed systems and 8% of wholesale for open containers) with a rate tied to wholesale price (a figure advocates suggested equivalent to roughly 65% of wholesale price for parity with other tobacco products). - Create a legislative committee to review all tobacco and nicotine taxes and regulatory alignment.

Public‑health groups said a sizeable, visible price increase provides stronger incentives to quit than small, incremental changes. "If you raise it a little bit every year the system will kind of filter it in and they really won't even notice the change," Stringham said, arguing for larger, less frequent increases to prompt cessation attempts. Nancy Vaughn of the American Heart Association cited evidence that price increases reduce youth initiation and support cessation, and she told the committee that states that enacted meaningful increases generally saw net revenue gains even as pack sales fell.

Industry, retailers and enforcement concerns

Retailers, wholesalers and some small‑business operators warned higher taxes would drive out‑of‑state shoppers to other jurisdictions and to untaxed or illegal sources. Harry Shaw, operations manager for East West Distributors, said New Hampshire stores draw customers from Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island and New York and warned, "If we do raise this, we're gonna lose out on this revenue that we're getting." David Slifka of National Convenience Distributors testified that past large increases in New England led to volume declines exceeding 21% and that related local retail traffic (food, gas, beer, lottery) also falls when shoppers cross the border less often.

Representatives of the vape retail industry urged care in folding e‑cigarettes into cigarette‑style taxation. Max Hager, owner of the Root Vapors stores, testified that "I do not believe vapor products are tobacco products. It's a nicotine product," and argued a steep tax could push users toward an illicit market and discourage smokers from switching to lower‑risk alternatives. Several vape‑industry witnesses, including Brett Scott of the New Hampshire Vapors Association, told the committee that noncompliance and untaxed imports are already large problems and urged stronger collection and audit mechanisms before any rate increases are enacted.

Questions and next steps

Committee members asked whether the proposed $2.78 would keep New Hampshire competitive with neighboring states and raised cross‑border impact questions. Stringham and several witnesses noted Maine currently taxes cigarettes at $2.00 a pack (with proposals to raise it further) and that even with a $1 increase New Hampshire would remain lower than most New England states.

DRA said it can provide additional data on retail and wholesale collections, and multiple witnesses urged the committee to consider enforcement and audit reforms for e‑cigarette taxes as part of any tax‑rate change. The committee did not take a vote at the hearing; lawmakers said they would consider the fiscal notes, enforcement options and public‑health evidence as they weigh possible amendments.

Ending

The Ways and Means Committee kept the record open for further analysis and asked DRA and other parties to provide supplemental data on retailer collections, closed versus open vaping volumes and cross‑border flows. No action was taken at the hearing; the committee will consider the testimony and fiscal analyses as it develops any amendment or recommendation.