Ways & Means hears overview of S.198 to revise tobacco substitute rules, shift wholesale licensing and raise fees

Summary

At a Ways & Means briefing, Legislative Counsel Jen Carvey summarized S.198, a strike‑all bill that would move wholesale tobacco licensure to the Department of Liquor and Lottery, raise retailer and endorsement fees, convert some criminal penalties to civil fines, ban deceptive products targeted at minors, and require a tax‑stamp study; witnesses are scheduled next week.

Jen Carvey, legislative counsel, briefed the House Ways & Means Committee on S.198 on Friday, describing a strike‑all bill that would revise how Vermont regulates and taxes tobacco products and "tobacco substitutes," move wholesale licensure to the Department of Liquor and Lottery and raise several fees.

The bill, Carvey said, rewrites definitions and moves regulatory language between Title 7 (tobacco regulation) and Title 32 (taxation) to reflect new products on the market such as electronic cigarettes and nicotine pouches. "We're looking at S.198, an act relating to the regulation of tobacco products and tobacco substitutes," she said, adding that the draft excludes FDA‑approved cessation products and cannabis from the tobacco substitute definition.

Why it matters: the proposal would shift enforcement and fee revenue flows, create a new wholesaler licensing regime, change penalties for unlicensed sales, and add consumer‑protection authority aimed at products that imitate items marketed to children. Committee members flagged the planned study of tax stamps as a particularly…

Ways & Means hears overview of S.198 to revise tobacco substitute rules, shift wholesale licensing and raise fees

Summary

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