Utah’s E-Cigarette Tax ‘Boggles The Mind’ And Could Prevent Smokers Quitting

The Daily Caller discusses the potential unintended consequences of Utah's push to raise the tax on e-cigarettes with Michelle Minton

Raising the vaping age to 21 and introducing a massive tax increase on e-cigarettes could prevent adults from quitting smoking and may harm public health, according to the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

But according to Competitive Enterprise Institute Fellow Michelle Minton, these policies, while well-intentioned, could have unintended consequences damaging to public health.

“It is definitely correct that there has been a marked increase in the use of e-cigarettes among teens, but it has been the same with adults because it is a new product and will pick up more and more as it settles into the market,” Minton told The Daily Caller News Foundation.

“If we push to teens into smoking traditional smoking they have a greater chance of becoming addicted to nicotine. Tax is a very blunt tool and is not exactly the best way to go about reducing the number of minors choosing to smoke a traditional cigarette over electronic cigarette.”

Not only might the tax reduce the appeal of using e-cigarettes vis-a-vis of traditional cigarettes but Minton points out the proposal to raise age limit to 21 will impact “adult human beings walking around the world between the ages of 18 and 21 who are currently addicted to traditional cigarettes and could make the switch over to electronic cigarette.

Read the full article at the Daily Caller.