Tax incidence of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) in the USA

BackgroundA growing number of states or jurisdictions in the USA have imposed excise taxes on electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). However, there is no consensus on how best to tax ENDS.ObjectivesWe specifically compare the tax incidence or burden for ENDS and cigarettes and analyse how ENDS tax incidence is associated with the choices of tax bases and rates.MethodsWe calculate ENDS excise tax incidence as the percentage of retail prices for each state or jurisdiction. Next, we use ordinary least squares to evaluate how tax incidence is associated with the choices of tax bases (eg, a specific tax base vs a value or ad valorem tax base) and rates and how these associations are moderated by product types.ResultsENDS and cigarette tax incidence is similar at the state level. Nonetheless, when federal cigarette taxes are considered, the cigarette tax incidence is higher than the tax incidence on closed-system ENDS. The proportion of states that impose value taxes is higher for open systems (65.4%) than for closed systems (46.2%). A value tax base is associated with a 7 percentage point lower tax incidence compared with a specific tax base. Product type further moderates the association between tax base and incidence.ConclusionTax incidence can be used to measure the strength of ENDS tax policies and how they are compared with cigarette taxes. Policymakers who aim to prevent youth from using ENDS may consider a value tax base to raise the tax incidence of closed systems—the product type preferred by young people.

Standardising the measurement of e-cigarette taxes in the USA, 2010–2020

IntroductionE-cigarette taxes have been enacted by 30 states through April 2020. E-cigarette tax schemas vary, in contrast to cigarette taxes in the USA that are levied almost exclusively as excise taxes per pack. Some states use excise taxes on liquid and containers, others ad valorem taxes on wholesale prices and others sales taxes. It is therefore difficult to understand the relative magnitudes of these e-cigarette taxes and the overall e-cigarette tax size relative to the cigarette tax size.ObjectiveTo create and publish a database of state and local quarterly e-cigarette taxes from 2010 to 2020, standardised as the rate per millilitre of fluid.MethodsUsing Universal Product Code-level e-cigarette sales from the NielsenIQ Retail Scanner Data along with e-cigarette product characteristics collected from internet searches and visits to e-cigarette retailers, we develop a method to standardise e-cigarette taxes as an equivalent average excise tax rate measured per millilitre of fluid.ResultsIn 2020, the average American resided in a location with $3.08 in cigarette taxes and $0.34 in e-cigarette taxes (assuming 1 pack=0.7 fluid mL).ConclusionsThe public availability of this state and local standardised e-cigarette tax data will allow tobacco control researchers to study the relationship between e-cigarette taxes and tobacco and related outcomes more effectively.

KELAYAKAN FINANSIAL USAHA TANI DAN PERSEPSI PETANI TERHADAP KEBIJAKAN KENAIKAN TARIF CUKAI HASIL TEMBAKAU (Studi Kasus di Kecamatan Suralaga Kabupaten Lombok Timur)

Tobacco is a national strategic commodity that contributes to state revenues and employment. The purpose of this research is to analyze tobacco farming income and to analyze farmers' perceptions regarding the policy of increasing excise tariffs on processed tobacco/cigarette taxes. The research method used is qualitative analysis with a descriptive analysis approach. The research was conducted in Suralaga District, East Lombok Regency. Suralaga sub-district was chosen because it is a sub-district that mostly cultivates tobacco commodities. Respondents used in this study were 30 respondent farmers. 15 farmers live in Bagik Payung Village, some 15 farmers live in Waringin Village. Both villages are tobacco farmers and are located in Suralaga District, East Lombok Regency. The results showed that tobacco farming in East Lombok Regency was declared feasible because based on the analysis, the farming experienced an income (profit) of Rp. 8,045,942/hectare/planting season with a farming feasibility level of 1.70> 1 (feasible category). Most farmers have the perception that the policy of increasing tobacco excise/cigarette tax aims to help the national economy through increasing state revenues, not to control the level of cigarette consumption. The local/central government has never socialized the increase in tobacco/cigarette excise. In addition, farmers also assume that the government has never provided assistance or compensation to farmers after the policy of increasing tobacco/cigarette excise. The increase in cigarette excise does not have a direct impact on the decline in the economic condition of farmers. The factors that have the most direct influence on farmers' income are uncertain weather conditions (climate change) and the determination of the selling price grade of tobacco harvests which is less transparent.

The impact of smoke-free air laws and conventional cigarette taxes on cardiovascular hospitalizations

Introduction Smoke-free air legislation and conventional cigarette taxes have long been used to reduce smoking initiation, prevalence, and conventional cigarette consumption. However, the extent to which these policies affect population health across a range of diagnoses and age groups remains less well understood. Methods Analyses use 2005-2014 hospital inpatient discharge data from up to 40 US states to estimate the effects of smoke-free air laws and conventional cigarette taxes on cardiovascular hospitalizations among working age and older adults. Results An increase in the percent of a county’s population covered by smoke-free air laws yielded a significant decline of 2.4% (RR: 0.976, 95%CI: 0.954, 0.997) in acute cerebrovascular disease hospitalizations among older adults. Moreover, significant declines of 2.0% (RR: 0.980, 95%CI: 0.967, 0.994) and 2.8% (RR: 0.972, 95%CI:0.949, 0.996) in acute cerebrovascular disease were observed among older adults in the first year and subsequent years after smoke-free air legislation was implemented, respectively. Conventional cigarette taxes did not yield a significant change in acute cerebrovascular disease hospitalizations, nor did either tobacco control policy lead to a significant decline in acute myocardial infarction hospitalizations. Conclusions Smoke-free air laws play an important role in reducing adult cardiovascular hospitalizations. These findings confirm existing research on acute cerebrovascular disease outcomes, as well as the modest effects on acute myocardial infarction hospitalizations observed in state- and national-level analyses. Implications Current research at the local level finds smoke-free air laws yield 40% declines in acute myocardial infarction hospitalizations and 29% declines in acute cerebrovascular disease.State- and national-level analyses find smaller effects of smoke-free air laws, and largely omits analyses of working age adults. Existing research likely suffers from omitted variable bias, including state-level tobacco control funding and local-level conventional cigarette taxes. Using adult hospitalization data from up to 40 states, this study confirms existing evidence at the national and state level, and provides new evidence that smoke-free air laws significantly reduce acute cerebrovascular disease hospitalizations among older adults.

Pajak Rokok Dalam Kebijakan Anggaran Kesehatan Di Provinsi Jawa Barat

Taxes are the country's largest source of income. Cigarettes are one of the goods that are subject to excise, and the results of cigarette excise are included in taxes for the region. The regulation on cigarettes has two opposite sides and traps in quite a dilemma. On the one hand, the cigarette tax provides a large income for a region, but on the other hand, the government must also be responsible for the negative impact of cigarettes on the health of its consumers, which results in an increase in the budget for health facilities. Law Number 28 of 2009 concerning Regional Taxes and Regional Levies Article 31 on cigarette taxes that enter local government revenues applies a minimum of 50% to enter into health service funding. The object of this research is the Regional Revenue Agency (BAPENDA) of Java Province. West Java Provincial Health Office. This research uses descriptive research methods and a qualitative approach. The use of cigarette taxes in West Java has been appropriate in terms of the inclusion of cigarette tax results in the health budget, but the absorption is still not optimal. The West Java Health Office focuses on the fulfillment of medical devices to deal with the negative effects of smoking on society. Meanwhile, local governments should be better at absorbing the budget from cigarette taxes in order to be effective and efficient in their use, then there needs to be socialization to the public regarding the special cigaretttax allocation for the health budget.

Analysis of the illicit tobacco market in Georgia in response to fiscal and non-fiscal tobacco control measures

BackgroundGeorgian illicit cigarette consumption was 1.5% in 2017. In 2018, a new tobacco control law took effect followed by a substantial cigarette excise tax increase in 2019. Research shows these policies reduce tobacco consumption, but the tobacco industry argues they increase illicit trade. There is limited evidence on this, particularly from developing countries.MethodsA panel household survey in Georgia obtained data over three waves: 2017 baseline, 2018 after the tobacco control law took effect and 2019 after taxes increased. A sample of 1578 smokers (and quitters in later waves) from five regions reported their tobacco use and were asked to present a cigarette pack in their possession. These were examined for tax stamps and health warnings to establish legality.FindingsThere was no evidence of an increase in illicit cigarette consumption in Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Akhaltsikhe or Gori in any wave. In Zugdidi, near the Russian-occupied Abkhazia, illicit cigarette consumption was increasing even prior to the tax increase, reaching 30.9% by wave 3. A country-wide shift occurred from manufactured cigarettes to roll-your-own tobacco (whose tax remained unchanged) between waves 2 and 3.ConclusionNo evidence of a country-wide increase in illicit cigarette trade was found after non-fiscal tobacco measures took effect and cigarette taxes increased. Relatively high illicit cigarette consumption in Zugdidi highlights the role of disputed territories and border administration in illicit cigarette supply. Substitution towards roll-your-own tobacco after manufactured cigarette taxes increased demonstrates the importance of equalising taxes on tobacco products to maximise public health benefits.