Young adult responses to taxes on cigarettes and electronic nicotine delivery systems
In the United States, higher ENDS tax rates are associated with decreased ENDS use but increased cigarette smoking among 18- to 25-year-olds, with associations reversed for cigarette taxes.
Optimal Taxation, the Underground Economy and Government Policy: Recommendations for Tobacco, Vaping, Marijuana and Gaming
In summary, it is recommended that the federal government impose no further taxes on e-liquid as long as contraband tobacco is easily accessible. If provinces impose their own excise taxes on e-liquid, they should be lower than corresponding federal excise taxes and should also not lead to significant price increases for e-liquid.
Vapor products, harm reduction, and taxation: More questions than answers for a young and dynamic product market
Principles of harm reduction recognize that every proposal has uncertain outcomes as well as potential spillovers and unforeseen consequences. Nevertheless, the basic principle of harm reduction is a focus on safer rather than safe. Policymakers must make their decisions weighing the expected benefits and expected costs. With such high risks and costs associated with cigarette and other combustible use, taxes and regulations must be developed in an environment of uncertainty and with an eye toward a net reduction in harm, rather than an unattainable goal of zero harm.
Vapor products, harm reduction, and taxation Principles, evidence, and a research agenda
Principles of harm reduction recognize that every proposal has uncertain outcomes as well as potential spillovers and unforeseen consequences. Nevertheless, the basic principle of harm reduction is a focus on safer rather than safe. Policymakers must make their decisions weighing the expected benefits and expected costs. With such high risks and costs associated with cigarette and other combustible use, taxes and regulations must be developed in an environment of uncertainty and with an eye toward a net reduction in harm, rather than an unattainable goal of zero harm. Even a small reduction in the number of cigarette smokers can have a big impact on public health, health expenditures, and labor productivity.
Differential Taxes for Differential Risks — Toward Reduced Harm from Nicotine-Yielding Products
In the face of a rapidly evolving nicotine-product marketplace, policymakers could consider differentially taxing these products to maximize incentives for tobacco users to switch from the most harmful products to the least harmful ones.
Vaping Taxes: Bad Fiscal Policy is also Bad Health Policy
The current federal tax on a 30 ml bottle of e-liquid is $7. By doubling this tax with a provincial equivalent (on a product that sells pre-tax for between $15 and $20) the ultimate price will be between 90 and 120 percent higher: A $14 excise levy on a $20 product plus sales tax of 13 percent results in a price of $38.42, making for a 92-percent tax rate. That becomes 118 percent if the price is $15. Such tax rates will have very unfortunate effects: Fewer people will switch from cigarettes and dual users will be less inclined to use non-combustibles. As a result, more will ultimately die prematurely.
STRIKING THE RIGHT BALANCE: VAPING AND E-CIGARETTE REGULATION IN CANADA
Canada’s regulatory approach to vaping and e-cigarettes must balance the benefits of vaping as a tool to stop smoking with the risk posed to youths who take up the habit, says a new conference report from the C.D. Howe Institute.
Vaping Tax Reprise
To determine an appropriate excise rate, a good starting point is to consider the levy imposed upon combustible cigarettes. That levy is currently about $9 per pack (20 sticks with a federal rate just under 15 cents and provincial rates that vary between 20 cents and 30 cents per stick). Using the risk-based levy of 5 percent of the $9 for e-liquid that delivers the same amount of nicotine would yield a tax rate of 45 cents. Such a low rate is unlikely to satisfy health advocates, so consider a rate of 90 cents instead, with one third going to the federal government and two thirds to provincial governments.
Excise Taxes on Vaping Products: A Grey Forecast
The failure to set reasonable tax levels in this market arises because governments have not cooperated adequately; they have not been guided by the principle of risk-proportionate taxation; they have not been guided by research that points to substitutability; and, for whatever reason, have not been informed by lessons from the well-established decades-long illicit combustible cigarette trade.
Young adult responses to taxes on cigarettes and electronic nicotine delivery systems
In the United States, higher ENDS tax rates are associated with decreased ENDS use but increased cigarette smoking among 18- to 25-year-olds, with associations reversed for cigarette taxes. In an attempt to curb the use of increasingly popular electronic nicotine delivery systems, such as e-cigarettes, 30 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. have implemented taxes on these products. But a growing body of evidence suggests that, among adults, these taxes can increase cigarette smoking, a habit whose health effects are likely to be more harmful than vaping nicotine according to the National Academy of Science and Medicine.
