As the vaping industry continues to reel from a string of user fatalities and illness, Oregon Democratic Senator Ron Wyden is pushing a federal tax on e-cigarettes.
Wyden says his legislation would expand the definition of taxable tobacco products to include e-cigarettes. The excise tax he’s seeking would be equal to those currently applied to cigarettes, or $1.01 per pack of 20.
A Lane County public health official says vaping among 11th graders has more than doubled since 2013. Wyden says lately he’s been talking with youth about the dangers of e-cigarettes.
“And I pointed out that in 1994, I got the tobacco executives under oath when I questioned them, and they all said that nicotine was not addictive," says Wyden. "Which was a lie to the American people, and was key to getting a settlement with the tobacco companies.”
Wyden says with e-cigarette products taxed, use would decrease, particularly among younger users.
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