UPDATE: The Federal Nicotine Vape Tax has been removed from the Build Back Better Bill. Find more information in our updated blog about the vape tax removal here.

The nicotine tax bill that will greatly increase the cost of vaping has recently passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 220 to 213. This nicotine tax has been included in the massive “Build Back Better” bill. The Build Back Better bill will now go to the Senate for vote. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has already stated that he’d like the Senate to pass the Build Back Better plan before Christmas. Reach out to your local Senator now before it is too late.

Vape Tax Update 12/11/21

The proposed nicotine tax that was in the "Build Back Better" plan has been completely removed for now. Due to the major pushback by small business owners, public health professors, vape groups, and vapers, Congress has decided to remove the nicotine tax from the bill. 

Health Experts Oppose Nicotine Tax

This new nicotine tax comes after seven health economists from various prestigious universities gave evidence to why the nicotine tax will increase combustible cigarette smoking rates in the United States. The letter to Congress was written by expert economics professor Michael Pesko from Georgia St. and was signed by six other health economists. Pesko found that about an extra half a million teens will start smoking cigarettes if this bill passes.

Yale’s Abigail Friedman, one of the experts that signed Pesko’s letter, published a paper earlier this year showing San Francisco’s 2019 flavor ban actually increased cigarette smoking rates among San Francisco’s high school students.

Oppose the Nicotine Tax Now

If you are a vaper or work in the vape industry, you may be thinking, “what can I do about this?”. Simply click on the link below to find your local senator and tell them how vaping has improved your life or the lives of others that are close to you. Many vapers on a tight budget will be forced to decide whether they should go back to smoking combustible cigarettes, quit vaping, or carve out a budget to buy vapes at up to five times the cost of what they currently are now.

Oppose the Nicotine Tax Now

What Will Vapes Cost with Proposed Taxes

The proposed federal nicotine tax would start to tax vape products at a steep rate. In the Build Back Better bill, the tax on nicotine vape products is set at 2.8 cents per mg of nicotine. While this sounds like a small number, it is important to note that for nic salt vape juice that contains high nicotine content, it will be very expensive. For example, a 50mg/ml bottle of nic salt juice in a standard 30ml bottle contains 1,500 mg of nicotine. This standard bottle of nic salt vape juice will add $42 of tax onto a bottle. This is a massive increase in price because most of these liquids retail for about $14.99. Vapers will now have to pay $56.99 (plus additional local taxes) for a 30ml bottle of vape juice that is 50mg/ml (5%) nicotine strength.

If you are a disposable vape user, prices will drastically increase as well. A disposable vape that contains 6.5ml and has a 50mg/ml nicotine strength, like the VaporLax disposable, will have $9.10 federal tax. This would increase the price of a VaporLax disposable vape from $14.99 to $24.09 (plus additional state taxes).