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Montana panel hears hours of testimony on adding e-cigarettes to Clean Indoor Air Act
Summary
Sen. Willis Kurdy told the House Human Services Committee that Senate Bill 390 would revise the definition of "smoking" to include electronic smoking devices. Dozens of youth speakers and public-health groups urged passage; a cigar lounge owner and some business groups opposed expansion. No committee vote was recorded at the hearing.
Senator Willis Kurdy (Senate District 49) opened testimony on Senate Bill 390, saying the bill would “revise the definition of smoking in the Clean Indoor Air Act and provide for a definition of electronic smoke device.” The bill drew extensive testimony from students, medical professionals and public-health organizations urging the committee to include e‑cigarettes and similar devices in the state’s indoor smoking ban.
Supporters emphasized youth vaping rates and the health risks of aerosol exposure. “These products might seem harmless to some, but they release harmful chemicals that can affect not just the person using them, but the people around them,” seventh grader Ava Carlisle told the committee. Student speakers described widespread use in schools and said the bill would reduce normalization of vaping among children.
Medical witnesses and national health groups echoed that concern. Lauren Wilson, a pediatrician and immediate past president of the Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said clinicians are seeing nicotine addiction among hospitalized children and urged passage. Carrie Neesen, senior director of advocacy for the American Lung Association, said “healthy air free of emissions of any kind should be our public health standard.” Jean Branscomb, chief executive officer of the Montana Medical Association, and Amanda Cahill of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network also testified in favor.
Supporters described the aerosol produced by electronic smoking devices as a public‑health hazard, not a benign “vapor.” A witness summarizing the science told the committee that when e‑liquid compounds are heated they can form formaldehyde and acrolein; other testimony warned of heavy metals, volatile compounds and nicotine in the aerosol. The committee also heard that some counties have already included e‑cigarettes in local clean‑air rules and that enforcement resources would not, supporters said, be substantially increased if the statute is amended.
Opponents included business owners who said the bill could affect establishments that have invested in ventilation and operate as private cigar lounges. Greg Franks, owner of Summit Cigar Lounge in Billings, said his business spent heavily on a ventilation system designed to limit secondhand smoke exposure and worried the bill’s language could disrupt existing operations.
State enforcement staff provided context about current compliance activity. An enforcement representative said roughly a thousand compliance checks were conducted in fiscal 2024 and that about 88 resulted in violations of sales-to-minors rules; she emphasized those checks cover all tobacco products and not just e‑cigarettes. On statutory scope, a health department witness said the bill’s definition would cover “an electronic smoking device that creates an aerosol in any manner or any form,” and stated that the text would apply “whether it contains nicotine or not.”
Senate Bill 390 drew sustained public testimony spanning youth speakers, local coalitions, medical professionals and inhalation‑health advocates, and it drew questions from committee members about enforcement, flavored products and how the law would treat cigar lounges and other special‑purpose venues. The committee concluded the hearing and moved on to other bills; no committee floor vote on SB 390 is recorded in the hearing transcript.
