One of the reasons why some vapers have switched from smoking to vaping is the potential cost savings, as many smokers who make the switch find vaping to be less expensive than smoking. But what happens when taxes on vaping products rise? According to a new study, increasing taxes on vaping products like e-cigarettes leads to higher smoking rates.
The new study, which was conducted by researchers at Georgia State University, shows that raising taxes on vaping products leads to higher smoking rates and that raising taxes on cigarettes leads more people vaping.
In Australia, cigarettes are so heavily taxed by the Australian Government that Australians pay more for a packet of cigarettes in Australia than anywhere else in the world. If the study’s findings, which are based on data derived from two large-scale surveys conducted by the United States government, are true for Australians as well then we might expect higher rates of vaping in Australia on the heels of the latest excise tax, which has skyrocketed the price of cigarettes in the country.
According to the study’s findings, a $1 USD tax increase on a packet of cigarettes corresponds with a 14.2 per cent increase in daily vaping. On the other side of the coin, a $1 USD tax increase per millilitre of e-liquid, which is what e-cigarettes use, results in a 5.3 per cent rise in daily smoking.
The study’s authors wrote that the findings of the study “suggest caution in regulating e-cigarettes because e-cigarette regulations may have a harmful, unintended consequence: increased smoking of traditional cigarettes.”
“These results suggest caution in regulating e-cigarettes because e-cigarette regulations may have a harmful, unintended consequence: increased smoking of traditional cigarettes.”
Leave your comments in the comments section below.