By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- A bill aimed at reducing teen use of electronic cigarettes by increasing their price passed the state House 75-17 and went to the Senate Feb. 26. The bill would place a 25 percent wholesale tax on the products.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Jerry Miler, R-Louisville, told the House that youth use of e-cigarettes is "creating a crisis" and "The most effective way to attack underage use is through raising the price."
The Kentucky Incentives Prevention Survey found that from 2016 to 2018, Kentucky teenagers nearly doubled their e-cigarette use, with more than one in four high-school seniors and one in seven eighth-graders reporting use in 2018.
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| State Rep. Jerry Miller |
The Kentucky Incentives Prevention Survey found that from 2016 to 2018, Kentucky teenagers nearly doubled their e-cigarette use, with more than one in four high-school seniors and one in seven eighth-graders reporting use in 2018.
House Bill 32 would also raise the wholesale tax for "other tobacco products," such as cigars, to 25% from the current 15%, and add e-cigarettes to that list. It would also double the per-unit tax on chewable and non-smokable products, but does not increase the tax on traditional cigarettes.
Gov. Andy Beshear proposed a 10-cent-per-pack hike in the cigarette tax, estimated to raise nearly $40 million for the next two-year state budget.
Miller said his bill is projected to bring in nearly $50 million. He said the amounts were increases "that a large manufacturer" said it could live with without opposing the bill.
Gov. Andy Beshear proposed a 10-cent-per-pack hike in the cigarette tax, estimated to raise nearly $40 million for the next two-year state budget.
Miller said his bill is projected to bring in nearly $50 million. He said the amounts were increases "that a large manufacturer" said it could live with without opposing the bill.
The original bill called for a 27.5% wholesale tax on e-cigarettes, which are the only tobacco products in Kentucky that does not have an excise tax. That would be equivalent to the current tax in cigarettes.
Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, applauded the bill's passage, but asked that the Senate go to 27.5%, "to make a real impact for young people."
Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, applauded the bill's passage, but asked that the Senate go to 27.5%, "to make a real impact for young people."
"E-cigarettes put our young people at risk of nicotine addiction, serious lung injury or disease, and other harmful outcomes," Brooks said in a prepared statement. "A tax on e-cigarettes equivalent to that on cigarettes is a proven way to prevent usage among youth and can reduce future healthcare costs and provide additional revenue for the state budget."
Ben Chandler, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, said the 25% tax was close enough to the cigarette tax to reduce youth use of the products. Chandler noted that after the state raised the cigarette tax 50 cents a pack, to $1.10, in 2018, annual sales dropped 36 million packs.
Miller is also the sponsor of House Bill 69, which would add a long list of regulations to e-cigarettes. It passed out of committee on Feb. 12, but has not yet been called up for a House vote.
Representatives from the Kentucky Smoke Free Association, which represents about 400 independent vape shops statewide, told lawmakers at the bill's committee hearing that while they support the added regulations in HB 69 because they address teen-access issues, they did not support the tax because it would hurt their businesses and would discourage adults from using their products as a smoking cessation device.
A recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report says more research is needed before it can be concluded that e-cigarettes help people stop smoking.
Ben Chandler, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, said the 25% tax was close enough to the cigarette tax to reduce youth use of the products. Chandler noted that after the state raised the cigarette tax 50 cents a pack, to $1.10, in 2018, annual sales dropped 36 million packs.
Miller is also the sponsor of House Bill 69, which would add a long list of regulations to e-cigarettes. It passed out of committee on Feb. 12, but has not yet been called up for a House vote.
Representatives from the Kentucky Smoke Free Association, which represents about 400 independent vape shops statewide, told lawmakers at the bill's committee hearing that while they support the added regulations in HB 69 because they address teen-access issues, they did not support the tax because it would hurt their businesses and would discourage adults from using their products as a smoking cessation device.
A recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report says more research is needed before it can be concluded that e-cigarettes help people stop smoking.
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