Korea-and so it starts.....e-Cigarettes Face Taxation

[mpetva]

e-Cigarettes Face Taxation

e-Cigarettes Face Taxation

The price of an electronic cigarette, a battery-powered nicotine inhaler used to reduce nicotine dependency, will go up next year as it will be subject to taxation.

The Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said that the "e-cigarette," which contains nicotine, should be regarded as a mild form of a cigarette, which is subject to local, health and garbage taxes.

Since it contains inhalable doses of nicotine, it should also warn of its negative effects on the cover.

The government had been discussing whether the device was a simple cigarette-cessation-aid or a cigarette for the past couple of years.

"We have concluded that the e-cigarettes are also addictive and harm the body," a health official said.

bjs@koreatimes.co.kr

 

[trog100]

its gets banned or it gets taxed.. they seem to have decided its just another form of cigarette.. a reasonably sensible conclusion if you ask me.. its how i see them.. just a safer way of smoking.. which means in the end it has to get taxed..

its better than the ban option..

trog

 

[illandreth]

The reason cigarettes and other tobacco products have such obsenely high taxes....even more so here in Canada than in the US is supposedly due to the very high health risks and damage done to not only smokers but others around them. These taxes are SUPPOSED to go towards health care. Now we have a product that, yes, is addictive but does not have nearly the serious health complications of cigarettes but they still want to tax them the same. What is the reasoning behind the tax if it is a product that does not cause the severe health problems?

This gets to the REAL reason so many countries have banned or tried to ban e-cigs, the government is losing too much tax money. I don't know about the US or any other country but here in Canada, despite the claim that tobacco taxes are for healthcare the money raised from those taxes goes into general revenue, not to specific health or tobacco related systems.

 

[unknwn]

In Ohio, a large pot of money that was awarded from a federal suit against the big tobacco companies, and intended for the financing of smoking cessation assistance and abstinance programs, was hijacked by the State government and used to keep the "ball rolling" for thier every-day general fund expenses.

A concerted effort by the folks that were administrating this public health campaign was quashed SO easily by the evaporation of the money that was earmarked for the very specific purpose of providing assistance to tobacco users who realized the value of quitting smoking.
Poof! Gone. Just like it was never there to begin with.
And now our formerly evangelistic Governor is foisting an ill conceived casino gambling "economic prescription" (my ...) on the population with no recourse or a voting decision.
And I thought that decades of the Republicans in power in Ohio was what was bringing the great state to ruin.

 

[TropicalBob]

Trog's conclusion is quite correct -- we cannot have it both ways. If this is a tobacco product, it can be legal without intensive clinical trials, but it will be taxed (and restricted in public places) as a tobacco product. If it's a drug product, get ready for a long delay in sales and marketing while studies are done.

Big Tobacco has been whispering "Level the playing field. You tax us unmercifully. Tax e-cigs the same way and we can compete."

Guess Korea will do just that.

 

[lkim65]

Well if it deemed a tobacco product then yes, it will be taxed. However, taxation is a state/federal issue. One does not have jurisdiction over foreign entities. And at present, the FDA is in the process of trying to ban the sale of tobacco products via the internet. So technically, the FDA is going to try and screw us either way.

 

[BigJimW]

e-Cigarettes Face Taxation

"We have concluded that the e-cigarettes are also addictive and harm the body," a health official said.

bjs@koreatimes.co.kr

"We have also concluded that vaping increases the size of the penis", another health official said

The main health official said this, "We cannot stand by and let our beloved industries be taken over with something safer. These things will be considered a health hazard until we can place taxes on them."

Love a news article lacking of names.

 

[TWISTED VICTOR]

"We have also concluded that vaping increases the size of the penis", another health official said

No they don't Foiled again

 

[Dredbull]

Hmm IF I am not mistaken the giant tobacco lawsuit settlements were borrowed and hedged against by a ton of states. Which in turn increased the taxes to pay off against the huge inflated loans.... See a pattern here folks?

The FDA is crooked.. the states are broken.. WHERE IS MY TIN FOIL HELMET!?!?!

 

[Tom09]

While the linked article is not highly conclusive, it does appear that e-cigs will become taxed in Korea. If true, this means that e-cigs became recognized as a tobacco or a consumer’s product and have not not been classified in terms of an illegal/banned drug. That’s actually very good news.

 

[Menville]

Taxation is probably the easiest way of getting to keep PV's legal..I hate taxes about as much as Ronald Reagan did...

 

[PlanetScribbles]

This would be a result. Who says that ecigs have to contain nicotine? I vape for the simple pleasure and habit alone, not because I crave the nic. The hardware cannot be classified as a tobacco product, that would be insane. That leaves the nic juice. If they want to tax that, let 'em.
Unless they can find a way of taxing glycerin and food flavoring to death, then we have a nice precident here. Go Korea lol

 

[Nuck]

Good news...tax is definitely preferable over banning.

 

[Modapa]

I have no problem with taxation either, but punitive taxes like they have on cigarettes is one of the reasons (one of the lesser ones) why I chose to try e-cigs. Sales tax? Sure, that would be more fair. I've heard many politicians state that they think that taxing cigarettes will help more people to quit, but who are they kidding? They just want the tax money. If everyone quit smoking cigarettes, there would be a panic!

 

[lotus14]

I have no problem with taxation either, but punitive taxes like they have on cigarettes is one of the reasons (one of the lesser ones) why I chose to try e-cigs. Sales tax? Sure, that would be more fair. I've heard many politicians state that they think that taxing cigarettes will help more people to quit, but who are they kidding? They just want the tax money. If everyone quit smoking cigarettes, there would be a panic!

Agreed. Just one more reason why valid, replicated, scientific studies are needed. If vaping is as safe as we think it is, there can be no justification for punitive taxes to cover additional health care costs.

 

[trog100]

Agreed. Just one more reason why valid, replicated, scientific studies are needed. If vaping is as safe as we think it is, there can be no justification for punitive taxes to cover additional health care costs.

they make their own justification.. one one thing is certain.. countries like the UK and US are gonna need to collect one hell of a lot of extra taxes over the coming years.. dumping none existent money (Quantitative Easing) into the economy just to keep it going has to be paid for in extra taxes somewhere along the line..

crunch time comes when all this economy boosting pretend money being dumped has to turn into economy killing extra taxes to pay it all back..

trog

 

[Mordred]

Taxes are in no way, shape or form ever "logical". For instance, the fuel that heats your house is the same that fuels your diesel car (try it). It´s the same product, it gets burned just the same and produces exactly the same amount of CO2. Yet one is heavily taxed, the other isn´t. It is, by the way, illegal to use your household fuel in your car.

Along the same lines of reasoning, governments could very well tax e-cigs and e-liquid, while handing out prescription nicotine patches and gum for free.

Because, you know, chewing gum is "ok", inhaling and blowing smoke rings is "evil". Just like burning fossil fuel to take a warm bath is "ok" and burning fossil fuel to drive to work is "evil".

Whatever the public perceives to be "sinful" can and will be taxed to the brink of oblivion. The objective effects are irrelevant.

 

[ECS-Mike]

Taxes are in no way, shape or form ever "logical". For instance, the fuel that heats your house is the same that fuels your diesel car (try it). It´s the same product, it gets burned just the same and produces exactly the same amount of CO2. Yet one is heavily taxed, the other isn´t. It is, by the way, illegal to use your household fuel in your car.

Along the same lines of reasoning, governments could very well tax e-cigs and e-liquid, while handing out prescription nicotine patches and gum for free.

Because, you know, chewing gum is "ok", inhaling and blowing smoke rings is "evil". Just like burning fossil fuel to take a warm bath is "ok" and burning fossil fuel to drive to work is "evil".

Whatever the public perceives to be "sinful" can and will be taxed to the brink of oblivion. The objective effects are irrelevant.

Technically, your house is heated with kerosene, your diesel car runs on diesel fuel. They aren't the same thing. Yeah, knowyou can probalby use one for the other, but you can also heat your house with gasoline, though its not advised.

 

[me who]

Technically, your house is heated with kerosene, your diesel car runs on diesel fuel. They aren't the same thing. Yeah, knowyou can probalby use one for the other, but you can also heat your house with gasoline, though its not advised.

Hmm...

No. 1 is similar to kerosene and is the fraction that boils off right after gasoline.

No. 2 is the diesel that trucks and some cars run on, leading to the name "road diesel". It is the same thing as heating oil

Fuel oil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[lilk]

It's just like the feds to think they will control individuals by making things more expensive, now they not only want to tax e-cigs but they are trying to tax soda and sweet drinks so that people will stop using them because of the obesity problem in the US, go figure, another money making prospect.

I think it is ALL about the MONEY that tobacco companies will be losing.

Can't they just leave us alone!!