(WWJ) — Michiganders could soon be paying more for vaping products and nicotine pouches.
This week Gov. Gretchen Whitmer unveiled a proposal to tax vaping and non-tobacco nicotine products similarly to other tobacco products.
Her administration estimates the so-called “vape tax” would generate about $57 million per year in revenue. A release from Whitmer’s office earlier this week said $42.8 million from taxing these products would help support smoking and cancer prevention efforts, as well as youth mental and physical health and access to healthcare.
The proposal was part of Whitmer’s proposed $83.5 billion budget, which also includes $2.5 million to fund enforcement and compliance processes for the new tax on vaping and non-tobacco nicotine products.
Bob Schneider, a senior associate with the Citizens Research Council, said the move would put the tax on vapes and nicotine pouches in line with similar taxes on tobacco products.
“This basically takes vaping, e-cigarettes, pouches and all that kind of stuff and applies the same tax that chewing tobacco and other nicotine-related products get and applies it now to this new form of vice,” Schneider said.
While there’s a flat $2 tax on every pack of cigarettes, chewing tobacco and other products are taxed 32% wholesale, according to a report from Bridge Michigan. Non-tobacco nicotine products like Zyn pouches and vapes, however, have thus far avoided being taxed.
The Whitmer administration hopes the tax will help curb nicotine usage. There are 32 other states with similar taxes on vapes and pouches.
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