Why Lower Vape Taxes Mean Lower Smoking Rates Among Young Adults

Tax increases on nicotine consumables are allegedly implemented with the intention of “protecting” the population from hazardous products. The only issue with this is that there is a wide variety of nicotine products available and one is not equal to the next, even more so now that the vaping industry has taken a chunk of the market from under the smoking industry’s nose.

That said:

Increasing taxes on traditional nicotine cigarettes is not the same as increasing taxes on nicotine vape products. Yes, they both deliver the same main ingredient via inhalation, but one uses smoke while the other uses vapor.

For which it seems only logical that before increasing taxes on either of them we must first arrive at the conclusion of which is more hazardous. Especially if the main objective of these taxes is to ‘protect’ human beings.

The Current Situation

30 states and Washington, D.C. have currently implemented taxes on vape products. Each one varies depending on the state and, in some cases, depending on the municipality. Based on these taxes, some of these states have experienced a decline in vape consumption. Which we assume is the objective of increasing taxes on any product, but whether that is a good deed for public health is not decided. In fact, there are many reasons why this decision might be doing precisely the opposite of that.

How Vape Taxes Affect Smoking Rates

In an effort to further understand the impact that vape taxes may have on vape consumption, a group of researchers from Yale University set out to study young adult responses to taxes on cigarettes and electronic nicotine delivery systems. The study focused on comparing survey data between states that increased taxes on cigarettes and nicotine vape products versus those that didn’t, specifically for adults between 18 and 25 years old.

Other studies that cover similar topics usually define ‘adult consumption’ with a broader age range that covers from the age of 18 and up. By taking only 18 to 25-year-olds into account, the researchers made sure to cover the age when adults are more likely to transition from experimental nicotine consumption to habitual use. Meaning the moment when most adults will decide if they will vape or smoke.

The study found that this part of the adult population is three times more responsive to vapor product tax increases than the rest. So, studies that divide the adult population from the underage population so plainly may risk not taking into account the real impact that tax increases have on emerging adults and long-term smoking.

The results found that increasing taxes on nicotine vape products by $1 per ml resulted in a 2.5% decrease in daily vaping, but also a 3.7% increase in cigarette smoking.

Final Thoughts

There is always a portion of the market that is mainly motivated by the price of consumables, so if the better, safer, or more enjoyable option is more expensive, it’s likely that this portion of the market will switch to the latter, the not-so-safe alternative. Even if that option is not as enjoyable, which is why the less expensive option should always be the least harmful one.

Whether smoking or vaping is worse for our health is a heated debate that doesn’t seem to have a conclusive agreement just yet, which is where clinical research has to come in. What we know is that tax implementations should only be proposed after considering the tax rates of other products that are a part of the same market. 

Luckily cigarette taxes continue to exist and compensate for vape tax increases that may be established at any given time. This combined with pro-vaping entities that understand that vaping may be the better option and work hard to prove it.