Home Politics America Senate Democrats propose a bill that would raise e-cig taxes

Senate Democrats propose a bill that would raise e-cig taxes

Last week four Democratic members of Senate reintroduced a bill that would increase the tax on vaping products to be on par with that on combustible cigarettes.

Diane Caruana

October 24, 2017

According to an article on The Daily Vaper, in the recent days Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and his chief deputy Dick Durbin (D-IL) have launched several attacks on vaping products. Last Sunday, Schumer even went as far as urging FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb to move ahead with the FDA regulations that were recently put on hold.

Additionally last week, Durbin and his Democratic colleagues Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) reintroduced a bill that would tax e-cigarettes in the same way as regular combustible cigarettes. If approved this bill would once again send the wrong message to the public, that e-cigarettes are as deadly as their combustible counterparts, a message that could prevent them from switching to the proven safer alternatives, and possibly cost them their lives.

Taxes on tobacco products should be relative to their risks

Schumer and Durbin claim that they are trying to protect children, however they are ignoring the countless studies that have indicated the relative safety and benefits of the products.

Schumer and Durbin justified their motion by claiming that they are trying to protect children, however in doing so they are ignoring the countless studies that have indicated the relative safety of the products. Public Health experts have incessantly been pointing out that of course appropriate measures need to be taken in order to prevent access to the products for kids, however regulations and taxes on the products should be relative to their risks.

Not surprisingly Schumer and Durbin referred to the infamous unsound report that was released by the former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. The report which was released last December said that increased e-cigarette use amongst young people is a “major public health concern”, and urged lawmakers to implement even harsher regulations in relation to use amongst minors.

Sharing information based on a flawed report

Last month Public Health experts Dr. Riccardo Polosa, Dr. Christopher Russell, Dr. Joel Nitzkin and Dr. Konstantinos E. Farsalinos, released a study which re-analysed the data that had informed Murthy’s report.

The study pointed out that the Surgeon General’s report was flawed for a number of reasons. “Most of the evidence presented in the Surgeon General’s discussion of nicotine harm is not applicable to e-cigarette use, because it relies almost exclusively on exposure to nicotine in the cigarette smoke and not to nicotine present in e-cigarette aerosol emissions.”

“Most of the evidence presented in the Surgeon General’s discussion of nicotine harm is not applicable to e-cigarette use, because it relies almost exclusively on exposure to nicotine in the cigarette smoke and not to nicotine present in e-cigarette aerosol emissions.”Harm Reduction Experts' report

The researchers added that the literature used for The Surgeon General’s report, “describes effects in adults, not youth, and in animal models that have little relevance to real-world e-cigarette use by youth.” Moreover the report exaggerates the effects of certain chemical compounds found in laboratory conditions, that do not reflect the effects that would be obtained in real life conditions.