Home Politics America Public Health Experts: Proposed US Vape Tax May Create More Smokers

Public Health Experts: Proposed US Vape Tax May Create More Smokers

As House Democrats are poised to vote on a proposed federal excise tax on vaping products. Public health and tobacco control experts are concerned that a tax increase on vapes without a parallel increase on traditional cigarettes, will just lead many vapers back to smoking.

Diane Caruana

December 31, 2021

Higher e-cigarette tax rates reducing vaping rates and increased traditional cigarette use.

While the proposed House bill includes a nicotine tax which would apply to vaping products and nicotine pouches, making the tax on them on par with the existing one on cigarettes, it excludes FDA approved NRTs such as nicotine gums and patches. The measure is part of the latest version of the party’s social-spending and climate bill that could pass shortly, yet faces an uncertain path due to opposition in the Senate.

Are vape taxes effective?

Meanwhile, in line with arguments by tobacco control experts, a recent study published in the Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, looking at the effects of traditional cigarette and e-cigarette tax rates on adult tobacco consumption rates, found that increased tax rates on vaping products are directly proportional to increased smoking rates.

The study titled, “The effects of traditional cigarette and e-cigarette tax rates on adult tobacco product use,” analysed the effects of taxes on traditional cigarettes and vaping products, on use patterns of these same products among adults in the United States. The researchers examined data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), over the period from 2011 to 2018.

The research team found that higher taxes on traditional cigarettes reduced adult smoking and increased adult e-cigarette use. Similarly, higher e-cigarette tax rates increased traditional cigarette use and reduced vaping.

“Cross-tax effects imply that the products are economic substitutes. Our results suggest that a proposed national e-cigarette tax of $1.65 per millilitre of vaping liquid would raise the proportion of adults who smoke cigarettes daily by approximately 1 percentage point, translating to 2.5 million extra adult daily smokers compared to the counterfactual of not having the tax,” read the study Abstract.

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