California is gearing for the possibility that e-cigarettes may soon carry hefty taxes. When election time comes, voters will decide whether or not to pass a ballot initiative that raises taxes on tobacco products and previously untaxed electronic cigarettes.
It’s been ten years since anti-smoking groups begun campaigning for steeper taxes, to no discernible effect. Now, if Proposition 56 passes, California might become the fifth state to tax vaping devices, after Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota and North Carolina. While the action is yet to be determined, the move itself in the country’s most populated state is expected to start a trend as the debate over vaping and its effects on public health continue to escalate, the Washington Times reports.
Voters stopped similar steps to increase cigarette taxes in 2006 and 2012.
Not surprisingly, tobacco companies are vehemently opposed to this year’s measure, which would raise the current 87 cents to $2 per pack in cigarette taxes.
The tobacco industry has put up over $56 million in efforts to oppose and defeat Proposition 56, while anti-smoking activists have raised $20 million, with the support of billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer, as well as medical advocacies and educators.
Those firmly against smoking and e-cigarettes argue that the liquids in vaping devices come in candy flavors and feature friendly, pop culture characters in order to draw in the next generation of would-be smokers hooked on nicotine.
Dr. Ted Mazer, president-elect of the California Medical Association, says, “We’re facing a particularly alarming new public threat with the rising popularity of electronic cigarettes, especially among our youth.”
Proponents of smoking and vaping, on the other hand, point out that California and Hawaii have raised the legal age to purchase any smoking products to 21, and that California has shifted guidelines that allow e-cigarettes the same treatment as traditional cigarettes, including banning them in public places.
According to vaping manufacturers, e-cigarettes are a safer alternative to tobacco, and are useful in helping smokers quit.
If Proposition 56 passes, the move could potentially raise $1 billion to $1.4 billion in state revenue by 2018. According to the measure, the additional income will go to California’s Medi-Cal fund, along with medical research and anti-smoking campaigns. Medi-Cal is the state-administered program that caters to low-income families.
