Policies and Laws

Act 22, Act 27 and Act 28 relate to the selling, taxing and buying of tobacco products. Collectively, these laws were enacted in 2019 to protect youth and teens from starting and using tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. To learn more about the effect of these prevention laws, see our latest Policy Brief.

• Act 22: Retailers can only sell tobacco substitutes, including e-cigarettes, substances containing nicotine or related paraphernalia if the retailer is a licensed wholesaler or has purchased goods from a licensed wholesaler. Mail, phone and internet sales of related goods is prohibited unless the sale is made to a licensed wholesale or retail dealer.
• Act 27: The legal age of possessing and owning tobacco products, substitutes and paraphernalia is 21. Retailers must post signage noting sale to those under 21 is prohibited, and people who sell to those younger than the legal age are subject to a penalty.
• Act 28: Tobacco substitutes, e-cigarettes included, are taxed at a rate of 92% of their wholesale price.

Act 135, passed in 2014, extends secondhand smoke protections in workplaces, motor vehicles, public places, on school grounds and in childcare settings. This is especially significant since children are most vulnerable to the harmful effects of secondhand smoke. The law also took an important first step to protect children from e-cigarette liquid poisonings by requiring child-proof packaging.

Read Act 135 Overview

Act 108, passed in 2016, strengthens the state’s Clean Indoor Act, including more protection from exposure to e-cigarette secondhand aerosol. Vermont was one of the first states to pass a comprehensive Clean Indoor Air Act that banned lit tobacco products in nearly all common areas of indoor “places of public access.”

Act 108 enhances the law by restricting the use of e-cigarettes or other vaping devices, wherever smoking is prohibited, including in most workplaces.