FIGHT A VAPOR TAX (HR 5715/S 2929)
HR 5715 and S 2929 propose raising taxes on all tobacco products to a rate equal to the tax applied to cigarettes and, at the same time, doubles the tax on cigarettes. On a milligram to milligram basis, cigarettes would see an advantage over e-cigarettes as they would be almost five times cheaper than nicotine from safer sources.
If HR 5715/S 2929 is enacted, consumers will be paying 5c to 6c per milligram of nicotine compared to 1.1c/mg in cigarettes (based on the average nicotine content of 9mg/cigarette across multiple brands)(NIH). The tax hike is just as bad, if not worse, for nicotine pouches, snus, and moist snuff (dip), which are all reduced risk products compared to cigarettes.
According to the FDA, serious tobacco scientists, the UK’s Royal College of Physicians, and several other international government health agencies, tobacco products exist on a “continuum of risk.” These groups are also aware that nicotine is not the source of harm. While CASAA members and other nicotine consumers are experiencing a reduction of harm by moving down the risk continuum with products like e-cigarettes, snus, and nicotine pouches, sponsors of HR 5715/S 2929 are displaying willful ignorance about the tobacco risk continuum.
Read the full bill here: CASAA.ORG