The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 18: Health

Chapter 225: Tobacco Prevention, Cessation, and Control

• § 9501. Definitions

  As used in this chapter:

  (1) [Repealed.]

  (2) “Secretary” means the Secretary of Human Services.

  (3) “Agency” means the Agency of Human Services, unless the context requires otherwise.

  (4) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Health.

  (5) “Department” means the Department of Health, unless the context requires otherwise.

  (6) “Eligible activity” means any activity that will carry out either or both of the dual purposes of freeing Vermonters from addiction to tobacco and ensuring that the youth of Vermont in this generation and in generations to come are free from tobacco addiction. Eligible activities include the following:

  (A) establishing anti-addiction programs that are accessible to all Vermonters;

  (B) creating and fostering anti-tobacco educational programs for use in Vermont schools;

  (C) creating and fostering anti-tobacco advertising;

  (D) establishing community outreach programs;

  (E) supporting tobacco control enforcement activities; and

  (F) evaluating the effectiveness of tobacco cessation, prevention, and control programs.

  (7) “Litigation Settlement Fund” means the Vermont Tobacco Litigation Settlement Fund established by 32 V.S.A. § 435a.

  (8) “Program” means the Vermont tobacco prevention and treatment program established under this chapter.

  (9) “Tobacco litigation settlement” means the Master Settlement Agreement between members of the tobacco industry and the State of Vermont, approved by the Vermont Superior Court on December 14, 1998 and finalized in Vermont on January 13, 1999.

  (10) “Trust Fund” means the Tobacco Trust Fund established by this chapter. (Added 1999, No. 152 (Adj. Sess.), § 271, eff. May 29, 2000; amended 2019, No. 82, § 4; 2023, No. 6, § 242, eff. July 1, 2023.)

• § 9502. Tobacco Trust Fund

  (a)(1) The Tobacco Trust Fund is established in the Office of the State Treasurer for the purposes of creating a self-sustaining, perpetual fund for tobacco cessation and prevention that is not dependent upon tobacco sales volume.

  (2) The Trust Fund shall comprise:

  (A) appropriations made by the General Assembly;

  (B) transfers from the Litigation Settlement Fund pursuant to subdivision (b) of this section; and

  (C) contributions from any other source.

  (3) The State Treasurer shall not disburse monies from the Trust Fund, except upon appropriation by the General Assembly. In any fiscal year, total appropriations from the Trust Fund shall not exceed seven percent of the fair market value of the Fund at the end of the prior fiscal year.

  (4) The Trust Fund shall be administered by the State Treasurer. The Treasurer may invest monies in the Fund in accordance with the provisions of 32 V.S.A. § 434. All balances in the Fund at the end of the fiscal year shall be carried forward. Interest earned shall remain in the Fund. The Treasurer’s annual financial report to the Governor and the General Assembly shall contain an accounting of receipts, disbursements, and earnings of the Fund.

  (b) Unless otherwise authorized by the General Assembly on or before June 30, 2000, and on June 30 of each subsequent fiscal year, any unencumbered balance in the Litigation Settlement Fund shall be transferred to the Trust Fund. (Added 1999, No. 152 (Adj. Sess.), § 271, eff. May 29, 2000.)

• § 9503. Vermont tobacco prevention and treatment

  (a) Except as otherwise specifically provided, the tobacco prevention and treatment program shall be administered and coordinated statewide by the Department of Health, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. The program shall be comprehensive and research-based.

  (b) The Department shall establish goals for reducing adult and youth smoking rates, including performance measures for each goal in conjunction with the Substance Misuse Prevention Oversight and Advisory Council established pursuant to section 4803 of this title. The services provided by a quitline approved by the Department of Health shall be offered and made available to any minor, upon his or her consent, who is a smoker or user of tobacco products as defined in 7 V.S.A. § 1001.

  (c) The Department of Liquor and Lottery shall administer the component of the program that relates to enforcement activities.

  (d) The Agency of Education shall administer school-based programs.

  (e) The Department shall pay all fees and costs of the surveillance and evaluation activities, including the costs associated with hiring a contractor to conduct an independent evaluation of the program.

  (f) [Repealed.] (Added 1999, No. 152 (Adj. Sess.), § 271, eff. May 29, 2000; amended 2007, No. 26, § 1; 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 258, eff. Feb. 14, 2014; 2019, No. 73, § 26; 2019, No. 82, § 4.)

• § 9504. Repealed. 2019, No. 82, § 4.

• § 9505. General powers and duties

  The Department shall have all the powers necessary and convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this section, and shall do all of the following:

  (1) establish the selection criteria for community grants and review and recommend the grants to be funded;

  (2) select a contractor responsible for countermarketing activities;

  (3) perform ongoing evaluations of tobacco cessation efforts and publish the evaluation measures on the Department’s website;

  (4) execute a memorandum of understanding developed with the Agency of Education for school-based programs funded through the Tobacco Program Fund;

  (5) consult with the Department of Liquor and Lottery concerning enforcement activities administered in accordance with the provisions of this chapter; and

  (6) propose strategies for program coordination and collaboration with other State agencies, health care providers and organizations, community and school groups, nonprofit organizations dedicated to anti-tobacco activities, and other nonprofit organizations. (Added 1999, No. 152 (Adj. Sess.), § 271, eff. May 29, 2000; amended 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 260, eff. Feb. 14, 2014; 2013, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 122; 2019, No. 73, § 27; 2019, No. 82, § 4; 2023, No. 6, § 243, eff. July 1, 2023.)

• § 9506. Allocation system

  In determining the allocation of funds available for the purposes of this chapter, the Department shall consider all relevant factors, including:

  (1) the level of funding or other participation by private or public sources in the activity being considered for funding;

  (2) what resources will be required in the future to sustain the program;

  (3) geographic distribution of funds; and

  (4) the extent to which the goals of the project can be measured by reductions in adult or youth smoking rates. (Added 1999, No. 152 (Adj. Sess.), § 271, eff. May 29, 2000; amended 2013, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 123; 2015, No. 11, § 23; 2019, No. 82, § 4.)

• § 9507. Repealed. 2019, No. 82, § 4.