Alderman Proco Moreno says he’s happy cigarette smoking among Chicago teens has fallen (“Chicago alderman wants $1.25 tax on e-cigarettes.”) At the same time, he worries e-cigarette use, or vaping, is rising among teens and he wants to tax e-cigarettes to discourage that.
I don’t suppose it has occurred to him that smoking among teens is down precisely because vaping is up?
And does the alderman realize vaping is a dramatically safer alternative to cigarette smoking? Many anti-smoking public health advocates endorse vaping as a way to greatly reduce the toll of smoking.
Imposing excise taxes on vapor products is not justified from a public health perspective. Moreno’s proposal is likely to backfire, removing a prime economic incentive for smokers to improve their health by switching to e-cigarettes.
—Diane Bast, Palatine
