House bill seeks to increase tobacco tax for cancer research

A bill seeking to increase the tax on cigarettes and vaping products at the state Legislature is moving forward, but without the actual increase first proposed.

In its original form, House Bill 2504 sought to increase the excise tax to 18 from 16 cents per cigarette or little cigar sold by a wholesaler or dealer, starting in July. In its latest version, this tax rate would no longer be increased, but would extend to vape products, including electronic smoking devices and e-liquids.

The bill — which is part of Gov. Josh Green’s package — aimed to increase state tax revenues to support the University of Hawaii Cancer Research Center while reducing nicotine consumption.

The move to increase taxes on tobacco products is supported by the state Health Department, American Cancer Society and Hawaii Pacific Health, among numerous other health advocates who agreed raising the price of tobacco products is an effective way to reduce consumption.

It’s opposed by ABC Stores, Retail Merchants of Hawaii and the Hawaii Smokers Alliance, which said raising taxes would affect small, locally owned businesses, plus make these products more attractive to shoplifters and create a black market.

The bill morphed during its progression from House to Senate to House, and in its latest version revises the proposed excise tax back down to 16 cents per cigarette, which is what rates have been since July 2011.

Additionally, the excise tax is to be on cigarettes, e-cigarettes and e-liquids but no longer on little cigars — a shorter, narrower version of large cigars with considerable amounts of nicotine. The latest bill does not list little cigars.

Lola Irvin, administrator of DOH’s Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Division, supports reinstating the original rate of 18 cents per cigarette as well as per little cigar.

She supports the addition of the tax for each electronic smoking device and e-liquid sold, but the removal of little cigars from the bill is concerning because they are harmful to human health, she said, with greater incidents of oral cancer.

Cigars, which are often flavored, are also becoming increasingly popular among young adults due to celebrity influencers, she said.

Another concerning trend found in surveys, she said, is that youth who vape are also more likely to smoke conventional cigarettes later in life. Surveys found that 27% of adults ages 18 to 24 now say they vape as well as smoke conventional cigarettes.

The legislative session has been a disappointing one overall for youth and health advocates who have been working for years to ban flavored tobacco and vape products.

Despite momentum at the county level, bills advancing a ban on flavored tobacco products failed to move this legislative session.

With the Honolulu City Council’s passage of Bill 46, which banned the sale of flavored tobacco products, several bills this session sought to reinstate county home rule, giving authority back to counties to regulate tobacco sales.

Under Act 206, county rules regulating the sale of tobacco are currently preempted by state law. But bills aiming to repeal that state law were deferred early in the session.

Luke Itomura, a freshman at Punahou School, was among more than 100 students from across the state who gathered for a rally at the state Capitol in March to ask lawmakers to take action against “Big Tobacco.”

Itomura, who is with the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii Youth Council, said it is frustrating to compete with paid lobbyists who consistently fight these bills.

“The majority of lawmakers tell us they support our cause, yet there’s been no progress for six years,” he said.

With an estimated 1,400 tobacco-related deaths per year over six years, that adds up to 8,400 lives that could potentially have been saved, he said. Additionally, polls have shown the majority of voters support eliminating flavored tobacco products.

“We’re just going to come back next year,” he said. “We’re not going to give up.”

Irvin said DOH still believes a ban on flavored vapes and tobacco products is instrumental to preventing youth from getting hooked on nicotine in the first place. The e-cigarettes nowadays are high in nicotine and highly addictive, which is harmful for developing brains.