House Democrats are preparing to vote to impose a new federal excise tax on e-cigarettes-but without tax increases on traditional cigarettes-this decision has led some public health experts to warn that the rule may prompt e-cigarette users to re-smoker. The bill can be passed as soon as next week.

The clause is part of the party’s latest version of the Social Expenditure and Climate Act, which may be passed as early as next week. But given the opposition of the Senate, it still faces an uncertain path.

The House bill includes a measure designed to impose a tax on e-cigarette products at the same rate as the existing federal cigarette tax rate of $1.01 per pack. It will raise approximately US$9 billion in ten years. The nicotine tax will apply to e-cigarettes, atomized liquids and oral nicotine bags. However, it does not apply to nicotine gum, patches or other smoking cessation aids approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as medical products. Supporters say the measure will prevent underage children and teenagers from buying e-cigarettes, which are currently not subject to federal excise taxes.

The nicotine tax clause represents an agreement between the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the White House, but concerns expressed by Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada Democrat) and Joe Manchin (Virginia Democrat) may lead to its exclusion from the final agreement.

Under the nicotine tax, the amount consumers pay will vary according to the volume of the product and the concentration of nicotine. Industry experts said that the popular 5% strength refill cartridge produced by market leader JUULLabs Inc. has a tax rate of $2.22 for two packs, which is the smallest package available. These experts said that the Vuse Alto of Reynolds American Inc., the second largest brand in the United States, has the same strength refill cartridge capacity more than twice that of JUUL, and the tax rate for a single pack is $2.93.

Earlier versions of the House Democrats’ Social Expenditure and Climate Act also included a clause that would double the federal excise tax on a pack of traditional cigarettes to $2.01. This version will raise nearly $100 billion in ten years and is supported by a coalition of public health organizations including the American Lung Association and the American Cancer Society.

Some public health experts say that <strong>adopting an e-cigarette tax without raising cigarette taxes will encourage people to re-smoker cigarettes because it will eliminate price differences and make traditional tobacco an economically more attractive option.

The House of Representatives bill considers that 5% of Juul cartridges are equivalent to a pack of cigarettes, although users have different consumption patterns, and the body absorbs nicotine from smoke and e-cigarette aerosols at different rates. Two packs of Juul cartridges are priced at $9.99 on Juul's website. According to data from economic consulting firm Orzechowski and Walker, as of November 2020, the average price of a pack of cigarettes in the United States is $7.01, including local, state, and federal excise taxes.

In an article published in the Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in 2020, Georgia State University economist Michael Pesco estimated that a tax on e-cigarettes would result in an increase of 2.5 million adult smokers in the United States

Kenneth Warner, a tobacco researcher and honorary dean of the University of Michigan School of Public Health, said: “This policy will be a public health disaster and will definitely increase the number of smoking and deaths.” “Nicotine products should be compatible with Taxes are commensurate with risks, and electronic cigarettes are far less harmful than combustible cigarettes."

Other public health organizations said that even if the bill to increase cigarette taxes is cancelled, they still support the bill because they believe it will prevent young people from smoking e-cigarettes. They say that the federal tobacco tax system has not kept up with the latest generation of tobacco products.

"We believe that the net impact on public health will be positive," said Matthew Myers, chair of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Children, referring to the current House bill. But he added: "If cigarette taxes were raised at the same time, things would be better-much better."

After the federal minimum tobacco purchase age was raised to 21 and the FDA banned the sale of sweet and fruity e-cigarette cartridges, the use of e-cigarettes among minors increased sharply in 2018 and declined. According to a federal survey conducted earlier this year, approximately 11% of U.S. high school students (an estimated 1.7 million children) said they had used e-cigarettes at least once in the past 30 days.

Electronic cigarettes are still the most commonly used tobacco product among young people. In recent years, with the rise and fall of the e-cigarette smoking rate among young people, the smoking rate among young people has been at a historically low level.

Public health officials generally believe that e-cigarette smoking is less harmful than smoking, which causes 480,000 deaths in the United States every year. The FDA is currently reviewing e-cigarette products in the United States, which only allows products that it considers "suitable for protecting public health" to remain on the market. In October, the agency issued this type of authorization for the first time for e-cigarettes manufactured by Renault in the United States. The agency said that if smokers switch to the device, the product can reduce smokers' exposure to harmful chemicals.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (California Democrat) hopes that the House bill will be put to a vote as soon as possible next week. If it is passed in the House of Representatives, it may face some changes in the Senate, because some senators vote to pass a broader bill to oppose the idea. Senator Manchin, who received a key vote in the 50-to-50 Senate, said he did not support the nicotine tax clause.

Senator Cortez Masto also stated that she opposes the nicotine tax because it will affect families with incomes less than $400,000, below this threshold. President Biden has said that he will not increase taxes.

"I know very well. I don't support any type of taxation and impose a regressive tax on those who are trying to cut costs and reduce taxes," she said.

The White House said that the proposed tax increase did not violate the promise, because e-cigarettes are not a necessary cost for households. The government stated that the House of Representatives proposal will promote public health and close the gap in the law that allows e-cigarettes to be tax-free.

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