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Tag: 2068

  • Washington Lawmakers Take Another Shot at Banning Flavors

    Washington Lawmakers Take Another Shot at Banning Flavors

    Efforts to ban flavored tobacco products in the state of Washington were revived Monday (April 7), as a bill to do so got a House committee hearing after the effort was previously assumed dead. Lawmakers rolled out twin bills aimed at nearly every product that contains tobacco or nicotine.

    House Bill 2068 and its Senate counterpart, SB 5803, call for a statewide ban on the sale of all flavored tobacco and nicotine products (e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco, hookah, cigars, menthols, nicotine pouches, and menthol cigarettes). They also call for an extra $2 in tax on every pack of cigarettes. If passed, Washington would leap into the top tier of states with the highest cigarette taxes, going from $3.025 per pack to $5.025. The tax would be tied to inflation and adjusted every three years to keep pace with rising costs. Other tobacco and vapor products, including alternative nicotine options like nicotine pouches, would also see steep tax hikes, up to 95% of the product’s taxable sales price.

    “These products don’t contribute to the social well-being of our communities,” said Rep. Kristine Reeves, the bill’s main sponsor. “They definitely don’t contribute to the health and well-being of our children. And I would love for you to join me in helping find a path forward to make sure that the next generation is not getting hooked on tobacco.”

    Reeves pushed similar restrictions in another bill this session which failed to move forward.

  • Washington: State Lawmakers Want to Increase Taxes and Ban Products

    Washington: State Lawmakers Want to Increase Taxes and Ban Products

    Democratic lawmakers in the state of Washington have revamped their approach to banning flavored tobacco products and combined it with an increase in cigarette taxes. The new legislation, House Bill 2068, revives the ambitious and controversial prohibition that made little progress in the state so far this year.

    The initial proposal banned flavored e-cigarettes and nicotine products beginning 90 days after the legislative session ends. The new ban, however, would begin July 1, 2027, allowing the state to continue collecting tax revenue for a budget that is predicted to have a $16 billion deficit over the next four years.

    Critics of such bans argue they lead to increased cigarette use as consumers look for alternatives, and that people who’ve turned to electronic cigarettes to quit smoking traditional cigarettes would no longer have flavored options. 

    Also in the new bill, according to Jake Goldstein-Street writing for the Washington Standard, the age to purchase nicotine pouches would be raised to 21 and “a $2-per-pack tax on cigarettes would be added that would rise with inflation. The first $5 million from the new tax would go toward preventing youth tobacco and vape use, while the rest would go into the state’s general fund.” Washington smokers already face one of the nation’s highest state cigarette taxes, totaling $3.77 between excise and sales taxes, he said. The tax new provisions would take effect Jan. 1, 2026.