Health officials look to taxing e-cigarette products to curb teen vaping issue
The debate over taxing e-cigarette products could pick up in the new year as public health officials look for innovative ways to curb the teen vaping epidemic.
An estimated 3.6 million youth reported vaping or using e-cigarettes in the past year, representing the fastest increase of an illegal substance among teenagers, according to the most recent federal data.
States with high taxes on cigarettes have seen a decrease in smoking in general and among youth in particular. Yet since 2007, when e-cigarettes first came on the market, states have varied in classifying and restricting the devices.
At least nine states and eight municipalities have taxes on e-cigarettes and vaping products, ranging from levying $0.05 per milliliter of vaping liquid to taxing 95 percent of the wholesale price, which can add up to $4 dollars on vaping products.
This month, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert supported adding an e-cigarette tax in the next budget with the explicit intent of curbing youth vaping numbers.