Taxing Non-Cigarette Tobacco Products Effectively

Audience:

Audience members for this session should include legislators, tobacco control advocates, and others interested in learning about the best ways to tax non-cigarette tobacco products.

Key Points:

While nearly all states tax non-cigarette tobacco products to some extent, few tax all other tobacco products (OTP) at rates comparable to its cigarette tax. These loopholes in tobacco tax laws lead to price discrepancies between cigarettes and certain OTP, which combined with increased marketing of OTP by tobacco companies and smoke-free policies prohibiting smoking in public places, have contributed to an increase in OTP use in recent years. Changes in public policy that tax OTP as an equivalent percentage of price as cigarette taxes may help to decrease the use of OTP, particularly as an alternative to quitting or cutting down on tobacco use altogether.

Educational Experience:

This session will involve presentation and discussion about the importance for public health of achieving and maintaining tax parity between cigarettes and other tobacco products (OTP), the ways in which various types of OTP may be taxed, and the benefits of using particular approaches.

Benefits:

This session will explore some of the ways in which several types of OTP avoid taxes imposed on cigarettes, as well as suggest ways in which OTP can be taxed and regulated more effectively to support reductions in tobacco use and improved public health. Discussion about both strong and weak policies in particular states and communities and the implications of these policies will follow the presentation.