A bill setting a five-cent tax on vapes and nicotine pouches has won approval in an Iowa Senate committee. Tony Phillips is a lobbyist for R-A-I Services, which sells VUSE, a digital vapor cigarette, and Grizzly Nicotine Pouches.
Anti-tobacco groups say the tax proposed for vaping products is far lower than the state tax on cigarettes and will not reduce nicotine use in Iowa. Amy Campbell is a lobbyist for a number of medical groups as well as the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
The bill calls for up to three million dollars of the taxes raised on these products to go toward pediatric cancer research in Iowa. The parents of children who’ve been treated at the Children’s Hospital Iowa City spoke in favor of the bill, but they also support a House bill with three million dollars for research of childhood cancers that is not connected to a tax increase. Kristi Polonsky of Fairfield has become an advocate after her 15 year old son Jack died of cancer last July.
Phil Jeneary, a lobbyist for Iowa vape shops, says due to changes in federal regulations, there are only a handful of products that can be legally sold.
The bill is eligible for Senate debate after winning approval in the Senate Ways and Means Committee Tuesday night.
