[F]ew adults vape in Vermont, according to a recent QuoteWizard data compilation. Vermont has the second-lowest raw percentage of vapers in the country, with just 3.1% of respondents to a 2017 survey answering that they used electronic cigarettes.
The data represents information gathered two years ago. Its release, however, comes just weeks after Gov. Phil Scott signed into law three bills restricting the sale of electronic cigarettes: S.86 raises the legal age for buying tobacco products from 18 to 21, H.26 restricts the online sale of e-cigarettes, and H.47 implements a 92% tax on e-cigarette products.
The survey, however, did not survey teen use.
The new legislation may well shrink Vermont’s already-small vaping population. Those in support of the legislation applaud that possibility, saying that a decrease in vaping will improve wellness and reduce addiction. Vape shop owners, however, say that the rules threaten their business and ignore the nuanced relationship between vaping and health.
Windham County vape shop 802 E-Cig Supply, for one, is moving to New Hampshire.
“Both of my buildings will be vacant and abandoned,” owner and founder Gaetano Putignano said. “I’ve been in Vermont my entire life, and they’re taxing us out of business. They’re punishing the wrong people.”
Putignano himself vaped to stop smoking cigarettes after watching his family members die from tobacco-related illnesses. He now uses products that contain no nicotine at all, and he said that much of his clientele does too. Putignano estimated that 80% of his customer base is over age 30.
Even among his younger clients, Putignano has not seen the dire consequences that anti-tobacco advocates predicted. He recalled a few 18-year-olds, recent high school graduates, who stopped by his shop recently to talk and make purchases. According to Putignano, their attitude towards vaping seemed responsible.
“In my opinion, if this is the worst thing these kids are doing, we have a lot to be grateful for,” he said.
Putignano’s store does not sell JUULs, a brand of e-cigarette notorious for its fruity flavors, high nicotine content, and popularity with school-aged crowds.
Alex Morano, the owner of the Valley Vape Company, said that JUULs have changed the game for e-cigarettes — and not necessarily for the better. She recalled a pre-JUUL era where the “vape bro stigma” meant that vaping wasn’t cool among teenagers. But according to Morano, JUUL, with its “very small, concealable, very high nicotine products,” has revolutionized the youth market.
“High schoolers had been making fun of vapers for five to eight years before this. Then suddenly, 60mg of nicotine becomes the new norm,” Morano said. “They would take a puff of their friend’s vape three years ago, and they were barely getting any nicotine.”
Morano and Putignano both emphasized that they do not support youth addiction, and they are not interested in pushing e-cigarettes onto people who don’t want them. Instead, both of their stores cater to people who, in Putignano’s words, “use these for what they’re intended for.”
But according to anti-tobacco advocates, even the safest electronic cigarettes are not safe enough — especially when kids come into the equation.
Sen. Ginny Lyons, D-Chittenden, one of the sponsors of the tobacco legal age change bill, said that Vermont’s low vaping rate may not accurately reflect the state’s youth vaping culture. According to information from the Department of Health, Vermont’s high school vaping rate is “statistically similar” to the national rate: 13%.
A spokesperson from the department said the Vermont vaping rate was based on adult survey results only.
“Even though we have a low rate relative to other states, having young children begin addictive practices is something we want to avoid at all costs,” Lyons said.
In the most recent legislative session, Morano said it was clear that the conversation around the e-cigarette bills had moved towards a discussion of public health.
“This time there was a sort of tonal shift, where you could tell that it was no longer really about taxes,” Morano said. “It was about this epidemic of younger kids picking up these JUULs and using them.”
Even Gov. Phil Scott, who has historically not favored tax increases, came out in support of the e-cigarette tax. At the time, Agency of Human Services Secretary Al Gobeille suggested that the bill earned his favor because Scott is a dad.
Rhonda Williams, the chronic disease prevention chief of the Vermont Department of Health, said that this session’s emphasis on the dangers of e-cigarettes was merited. According to Williams, the three bills form a “comprehensive approach to reduce youth access,” a strategy that she believes is necessary to decrease addiction.
“One of the most researched and effective interventions to reduce youth use, in particular, is price,” Williams said. “With the data that we were seeing, certainly the CDC and FDA were speaking to and addressing this as an epidemic. We had to pay attention.”
Morano said that she agrees with the state’s health-oriented goals. She even supported raising the legal purchasing age, although she would have preferred 19 — the age by which most people are out of high school — to 21.
Her quarrel is with the lack of “nuance” and “care” that she sees in the state’s treatment of the new e-cigarette legislation.
“It’s as if they want to destroy an industry, which is a very dangerous game for a government to be playing,” she said.
But despite it all, the Valley Vape Company will remain open. Morano came to Vermont to open a vape store because she saw an opening in the market, and she said that she is confident her business can continue.
“People have heard that I’m closing,” she said. “I am not closing. I’ve been planning for this.”
Morano’s tactic is to start selling things besides just e-cigarettes. Before, her store had been one of the few in the state dedicated solely to vaping; now, it will be forced to diversify, she said.
For Putignano, leaving the area altogether made more financial sense. While he would prefer to remain, the legislation in Vermont — which he called “the least business-friendly state” — will soon make it impossible for him.
“I chose to open in Vermont because I love Vermont,” Putignano said. “I had no intention of leaving. But when the law passed, H.47 — I can’t remain in business. We compete with New Hampshire vape shops across the river, and with a 92% tax, it would be impossible for me to continue to operate.”
