Ball State Study Shows Americans Are Avoiding Higher Vaping Taxes

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MUNCIE, Ind. — Though a big push across the nation to clamp down on vaping, especially among people who are under the age of 18, has gained lots of momentum, it may not be doing as much to convince people to kick a bad habit.

A study released by Ball State economics professor Erik Nesson uses a unique method to analyze economic data to paint a picture of how Americans are finding ways around having to pay higher taxes when they buy e-cigarettes or other vaping products.

Erik Nesson Ball State University

“What we can do is we can see if a state raises it’s e-cigarette taxes and compare them states that have not raised e-cigarette taxes,” Nesson told Inside Indiana Business. “At the end of the day our results showed there is no free lunch when it comes to e-cigarette policies.”

The study found for every 10-percent increase in e-cigarette prices, e-cig sales dropped 26-percent. But, with that 10-percent increase in e-cigarette prices, the study showed a 10-percent increase in traditional cigarette sales in those states.

Ball State University

“Most people would agree that fewer people using e-cigarettes is probably a good thing,” Nesson added. “But, if that lower use of e-cigarettes comes at the cost of a higher use of traditional cigarettes, that might not be good for the overall public health.”

Twenty states have some sort of higher tax on vaping products. Indiana lawmakers are considering a similar tax in this year’s session but the bill has not made it out of a committee.

 

Image by Lindsay Fox from Pixabay