Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology

Department of Medicine

Cardiologist Prospero Gogo, M.D., professor of medicine

(MARCH 28, 2024) Cardiologist Prospero Gogo, M.D., professor of medicine, supports a recently passed bill that bans the sale of addictive, flavored products containing nicotine, according to an op-ed in the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus.

The Vermont Legislature passed S.18, and soon the bill will make its way to the desk of Governor Scott.

By banning the sale of addictive, flavored products containing nicotine, such as vapes and menthol-flavored cigarettes, Gogo wrote, the bill will, in short, save money, save lives, and prevent suffering.

While the short-term cost to the state, in the form of lost tax revenue, may be as high as $12 million in the first year after it takes effect, Gogo estimates, compare this estimate to the actual cost to taxpayers each year for the treatment of preventable nicotine product-related illnesses, including heart attacks and cancers: If we put together all the attributable health care costs related to tobacco abuse in Vermont, it may be as high as $400 million, he states, concluding that a flavor ban could make health benefits—and cost savings—evident in just a few years.