A bill that would raise the legal smoking age from 18 to 21 received final House approval Wednesday with an amendment exempting current military members.
H.93 would gradually increase the age for purchasing tobacco products in Vermont over the next three years. As of the beginning of January 2019, the legal age would be 21.
The final bill included an amendment from Rep. Robert Helm, R-Fair Haven, that keeps the legal age for tobacco use at 18 for active military members.
Helm, a veteran, introduced a similar amendment Tuesday that would have also exempted former military members under the age of 21, but it failed narrowly.
On Tuesday, Helm said young people who serve in combat should be able to come home and make decisions for themselves. “If you want these boys to be men and girls to be women, then let’s treat them like adults,” Helm said.
Rep. Chip Troiano, D-Stannard, also a veteran, did not support the military carve-out.
If lawmakers passed the exemption, he said Tuesday, it would “work against our military in trying to fight to make our troops healthier and more duty ready.”
Another amendment was offered Wednesday by Rep. Kesha Ram, D-Burlington, that would have directed $2.7 million to tobacco prevention efforts.
Ram withdrew the amendment after House Appropriations Chair Mitzi Johnson, D-South Hero, said there wasn’t enough wiggle room in the budget to fund the program.
The legislation includes an increase in the tax on tobacco products, also stepping up each year for the next three years. The tax per pack of cigarettes eventually would increase 39 cents to $3.47.
The Joint Fiscal Office estimated the state would see a loss of $900,000 annually from raising the smoking age. The higher tax would make up for that drop in revenue.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where it faces some skepticism. Gov. Peter Shumlin has also voiced opposition to the bill.
