The state Senate voted 30-0 Tuesday to prohibit online sales of e-cigarette products, starting in July, to reduce youth access.Lawmakers are alarmed over new data showing a dramatic surge in the number of Vermont teenagers using electronic cigarettes and vaping products, which contain varying levels of the highly addictive drug nicotine.The data suggests many teenagers are buying the products online."Ninety percent of kids who get cigarettes, the kids who are under 18, get them from their friends. But only 50% of kids who are getting tobacco substitutes and e-cigarettes get them from their friends because it's easy to buy them online," said Sen. Cheryl Hooker, a Democratic-Progressive from Rutland County. The bill is intended to limit e-cigarette sales in Vermont to licensed retailers.The vote follows passage of a second bill last week, which would raise the minimum tobacco purchase age from 18 to 21, effective September 1.Hooker said retailers are vigilant about age verification, though she acknowledges teenagers could drive over the state border to circumvent the new restrictions.A third bill imposing a new state tax on e-cigarettes is pending in the Senate Finance Committee.Republican Gov. Phil Scott is expected to sign all three bills if they land on his desk.

The state Senate voted 30-0 Tuesday to prohibit online sales of e-cigarette products, starting in July, to reduce youth access.

Lawmakers are alarmed over new data showing a dramatic surge in the number of Vermont teenagers using electronic cigarettes and vaping products, which contain varying levels of the highly addictive drug nicotine.


The data suggests many teenagers are buying the products online.

"Ninety percent of kids who get cigarettes, the kids who are under 18, get them from their friends. But only 50% of kids who are getting tobacco substitutes and e-cigarettes get them from their friends because it's easy to buy them online," said Sen. Cheryl Hooker, a Democratic-Progressive from Rutland County.

The bill is intended to limit e-cigarette sales in Vermont to licensed retailers.

The vote follows passage of a second bill last week, which would raise the minimum tobacco purchase age from 18 to 21, effective September 1.

Hooker said retailers are vigilant about age verification, though she acknowledges teenagers could drive over the state border to circumvent the new restrictions.



A third bill imposing a new state tax on e-cigarettes is pending in the Senate Finance Committee.

Republican Gov. Phil Scott is expected to sign all three bills if they land on his desk.