Following some procedural drama, HB 211 is on its way to a vote by the full Texas House of Representatives.
This bill would impose a 5c/mL tax on e-liquid.
Five cents per milliliter might not sound like much, but it stacks up fast. HB 211 would add $1.50 to a 30mL bottle of e-liquid. Again, while it may not sound like a huge chunk of money, data show that it doesn't take much to discourage people from switching to vaping. Minnesota's 95% wholesale tax on just nicotine (which amounted to a similar small increase in costs to MN consumers) prevented more than 30,000 people from ditching cigarettes for vaping.
At the same time, this tax would add less than a nickel to popular closed system products, which are more widely available compared to bottled e-liquid. This policy gives an unfair advantage to products sold predominantly by convenience-oriented retailers that can't provide the same level of support that many people experience in a specialty shop--support to completely switch to vaping!
Texas lawmakers need to hear your experience with switching to safer nicotine products like vaping. Take action today and stop Texas from making Minnesota's mistake!
