Two major U.S. cities to raise taxes on e-cigarettes

Authorities in two of the largest and most influential cities in the United States are preparing to raise the rates of excise tax applied to e-cigarettes.

Chicago’s outgoing mayor, Rahm Emanuel, a longtime advocate of strong restrictions on tobacco, plans to submit an ordinance to the City Council to increase the city’s tax on e-cigarette devices and the nicotine liquid used to produce vapor. The measure will also include stricter rules on selling vapor products including a requirement to sell e-cigarettes from behind the counter in stores.

Emanuel’s proposal would raise the current tax on liquid nicotine from $0.55 to $1.20 per milliliter, an increase of more than 100 percent. The tax per “product unit”, whether sold individually or packaged with other products, would rise from $0.80 to $1.50.

Washington D.C., the nation’s capital, will see taxes on vapor products rise on 1 October 2018. The District of Columbia Official Code classifies any vapor cartridge or other container of nicotine in a solution as “other tobacco products”. The excise tax on this broad category of products will rise from 60 percent to 90 percent of the wholesale price.

These reforms will ensure that e-cigarettes sold in Chicago and Washington are among the most heavily taxed in the United States.