CHICAGO -- In a move to keep electronic cigarettes away from teens, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel submitted a proposal to a City Council committee to essentially double existing taxes on the devices and accompanying e-liquids.
The City Council received the proposal Sept. 20, with the mayor and other public officials announcing the move at a press conference, according to the Chicago Sun Times.
The city taxes e-cigarettes at 80 cents per vaping device or container and 55 cents per milliliter of liquid nicotine, which the Tax Foundation notes is one of the highest rates in the nation, the Sun Times reported. The new ordinance, if enacted, would raise the tax to $1.50 per device and $1.20 per milliliter of liquid.
“The evidence is anything but clear in terms of the value of the products in terms of helping adults cease the use of tobacco,” Julie Morita, director of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said at the press conference. “We’re not willing to sacrifice the future of our children for the potential that these products might help adults give up the habit.”
At least one local retailer expressed concerns. “It’s another regressive tax on the people who live in the city,” said Rob Razowski, owner of Rmarts LLC, Deerfield, Ill. “These taxes force people to buy elsewhere and online. There are less retailers within the city limits every day.”
In related state and local news, the New Jersey General Assembly issued a bill in September to impose a 3.5% tax on the retail sales of liquid nicotine, which is intended to replace the 10-cents-per-fluid-milliliter tax, according to Lakeville, Minn.-based NATO.
Then in New York, the state assembly in September issued a proposal to prohibit the public display of tobacco advertisements and tobacco paraphernalia within 500 feet of public schools, NATO officials said.
Photograph: Shutterstock
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