The Iowa Senate has passed a bill establishing a new excise tax on alternative nicotine products, introducing a 5-cent per-unit tax on nicotine pouches and a 5-cent per milliliter tax on e-liquid used in vape products. The tax applies to both disposable vapes and refill cartridges, creating a standardized levy across emerging nicotine categories that have historically gone untaxed in the state.
Lawmakers said the extra revenue would go toward pediatric cancer research. “I understand that the level of tax we’re looking at here is not likely to be enough to deter usage, but it is enough to create this investment in pediatric cancer research that we all want to get behind,” Sen. Kara Warme (R-Ames) said.