Thanks to the passage of Proposition 56, the tax rate of tobacco products other than cigarettes is being raised again.
The new, higher tobacco tax does not apply to vaping devices. But it does apply to any other vaping products that contain nicotine, including e-liquids.
It is also being imposed on cigars and chewing tobacco.
On April 1st, the tax was set at 27.3 percent of the wholesale cost. As of July 1st, the tax goes up to 65.08 percent of the wholesale cost.
Debra Kelley, advocacy director for the American Lung Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties, said higher tobacco taxes are a good public health strategy.
“The higher the price is for any kind of tobacco product, then the bigger the impact, especially on teens," she explained. "So as the tobacco prices go up, teen use goes down.”
Kelley said that is very important when it comes e-cigarettes.
“Contrary to what the tobacco industry would have us believe, that it’s 50-year-old smokers that are using e-cigs to try to quit, it’s actually teens who are using them," she pointed out. "They have the highest of e-cig use of any age group, and in fact, they are two or three more likely to use e-cigarettes than regular tobacco products.”
California is now one of only six states that imposes a tobacco tax on e-cigarettes and other vaping products.
