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Remember how we all woke up and realized that the country was facing an opioid crisis Another health crisis is being prepared: the skyrocketing of the use of electronic cigarettes by young people. The question will be: what should Arkansas do about it?
First of all, the crisis.
For decades, society has been successful in reducing smoking. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 14% of American adults smoked cigarettes, compared to 42.4% in 1965. According to the campaign for children without tobacco, only 7.6% of high school students smoke. In Arkansas, it's 13.7%.
Then these vaping products – containing nicotine and other harmful chemicals – were introduced. They are new and elegant and have fruity flavors, and many children use them. According to the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration, more than 3.6 million college and high school students have used electronic cigarettes in the last 30 days of last year. About 1.5 million more young Americans used electronic cigarettes in 2018 compared to 2017.
Juul, the industry leader, held 68% of the vaping market in June 2018. Juul is positioning itself as a safer alternative to cigarettes that can help adults quit smoking, but the product obviously appeals to children, then to their addiction .
Decades of anti-smoking efforts are being canceled. Many young people could be hooked on these electronic cigarette products, as their grandparents were hooked on cigarettes. A school superintendent from Arkansas said that vaping had become a big problem. A high school student who was twice vapeed and faced disciplinary punishment apologized, claiming that he hated to admit that he was a drug addict.
So what should the state do (given that we can virtually leave everything in Congress without doing anything)?
One solution is to prohibit young people from buying the products. Andy Davis' Bill R-1565, R-Little Rock, set age 21 as the legal age for the purchase of tobacco products and electronic cigarettes. He makes his way through the process and seems to head to the governor's office.
That would help. However, we all know that making it illegal will not prevent all young people from using it.
The other answer is to raise the price, the easiest way is to increase taxes. While Arkansas charges cigarettes at $ 1.15 per pack, e-cigarette products are subject to the same sales tax as other non-food products.
Thursday, Senate Speaker Pro Tempore, Jim Hendren of R-Sulfur Springs, as well as Democrats and Republicans from the House of Representatives and the Senate, unveiled a bill that would impose an additional 20% tax on cigarettes – about 80 cents taxes on cigarettes with tobacco products other than cigarettes. It would be a tax of about 67%. The money raised would offset tax cuts for low and middle income taxpayers.
Hendren talks about raising tobacco taxes for months. Since the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement announced that the state's Medicaid program was spending $ 795 million annually for the treatment of tobacco-related illnesses in adults aged 30 to 65 years. According to him, non-smoking taxpayers should not subsidize the costs of tobacco-related health.
Meanwhile, early in the session, legislators cut taxes on wealthier Arkans while increasing taxes on gasoline and diesel, which hit hardest on low- and middle-income people. That would balance some of that.
As acting president, Hendren is the Senate leader and a close ally of his uncle Governor Asa Hutchinson. His conduct of the effort improves his chances of success. Linking the incomes of cigarettes and electronic cigarettes to tax cuts for low and middle income Arkans was a smart policy.
But almost all tax increases are a political challenge. Tobacco taxes are difficult because of the efforts of the tobacco industry, because many stores sell products and put pressure on their legislators, because many voters use the products and because some legislators do not want to aim for legal behavior in a free country.
Regardless of what happens in the Capitol, if you have not paid attention to this question, start. Because while we, the adults, were looking in the opposite direction, nicotine became cool again for many young people.
Steve Brawner is a syndicated columnist in Arkansas. Send him an e-mail at the address [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @stevebrawner.
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