We may have won something but, I don't like it!

[cookiebun]

okay so if it's tobacco and menthol flavors only, does that include flavored tobaccos like applewood tobacco and such? because latte-bacco could be decent if it's more focused on the latte and less on the bacco...

It's going to take at least 18 to 24 months to sort all the issues out with the FDA.
As for the taxes, some states ALREADY tax ecig hardware and others are discussing it.
If you don't like that, write your local government:
Legislation News

 

[StandingOnTheMoon]

Pretty sure that the government is usually pretty good at screwing up a perfectly good thing, I bet flavors will be the first thing regulated.

 

[AttyPops]

OK OK OK, I know the nicotine comes from tobacco, and I know that synthetic nic is supposedly too expensive to be practical. But sheesh! I agree with the OP that it's really not smoking (no combustion). It does have trace nasties from tobacco, but minor in comparison (like the NRTs also). However, regulating it as tobacco is probably the lesser of two evils. The point was HOW it is regulated, not WHAT it is.

It's isn't tobacco, except in very minor %. Now, when I claim that I'm tobacco free, I mean it. As much as I would mean it if I was using NRTs. If synthetic nicotine was practical, how would that affect the outcome? It's a tobacco extract. OK. It's regulated as a tobacco product, OK (I guess... rather than it having it's own category). It can even be nicotine free.

As far as the flavor issue, Bah! They can't pull all food flavoring off the markets. Regulate VG? Regulate PG? Nope. Regulate Nicotine? Tobacco laws make it legal, but taxable.

What's the issue? Taxes? Hmmmm. OK. Hardare/electronics? Nope. PG? VG? Flavor? Nope. Nicotine again.

They will hit one thing and one thing only. Nicotine. With taxes and/or restrictions. Taxes are based (from what I've read in other posts) on perceived harm BASED ON DATA. E-Cigs have no (or very little) proven harm. Taxes should be very low IMHO. Less than snus/snuff/chew. Everything besides the nicotine can be purchased separately and for other uses. Atomizers and cartos are an exception, I suppose, but you can DIY those too (see modder's section).

My guesses/ 2 cents.

/soapbox

 

[TNT]

Taxes are based (from what I've read in other posts) on perceived harm BASED ON DATA. E-Cigs have no (or very little) proven harm. Taxes should be very low IMHO. Less than snus/snuff/chew. Everything besides the nicotine can be purchased separately and for other uses.

My guesses/ 2 cents.

/soapbox

One thing to keep straight... government can tax what it wants. It can put a special tax on "amusements," which I think local governments in PA can tax as high as 10 per cent. In 1936, the PA government put a 10 per cent tax on liquor to pay for the costs of the Johnstown Flood... not only does the tax still exist (it may go by a different name) it's now 18 per cent.

Then, for instance, there's the the Internet Tax Freedom act, in which the Federal government prohibited taxing (with some exceptions) internet service by any government entity (now extended until at least 2014). A lot of that was because the government wanted to promote the internet as much as possible. (Note that this has zero to do with internet sites collecting sales tax -- an entirely different set of laws covers that.) Internet Tax Freedom Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In theory, the government may grow so fond of e-cigs as the solution to a public health crisis that they specifically ban any taxes on them. If the Feds really felt like it, they could even extend tax credits to smokers who switch to e-cigs. Of course, none of those things are going to happen... I'm just saying they could if they wanted to.

PS: Obviously, I am NOT an accountant or a lawyer. You already knew that when I cited Wikipedia.

 

[DC2]

Sorry, but I don't believe that for a minute (yes, I know that's what they SAID). The main idea behind the tobacco tax was that it hit primarily a group without the power to fight this tax, and was politically popular.

It may be only what they said, but it is also what they have done for the most part...

I assume these are the current Federal Excise Taxes...
TTBGov Tax and Fee Rates

Tobacco Products          1000 units      Pack of 20
Small Cigarettes            $50.33          $1.01
Large Cigarettes           $105.69          $2.11
Small Cigars                $50.33          $1.01
 
Tobacco Products              1 lb.       Tin or Pouch
Pipe Tobacco                 $2.8311        $0.1769
Chewing Tobacco              $0.5033        $0.0315
Snuff                        $1.51          $0.0944
Roll-your-own Tobacco       $24.78          $1.5488

Electronic cigarettes should be taxed at rates comparable to snuff and snus.

That doesn't mean they won't try to do something outrageous and without justification.
But it will be up to all of us to fight to make sure everyone is, at the very least, properly educated.

 

[jlarsen]

How much tobacco is used up in the nicotine extraction? Even if the percentage of nic in ejuice is low, and the nic juices are the only thing taxed, it is POSSIBLE that the powers that be could go after nic taxes based on the amount of tobacco used to produce it. Even then, if the tax is comparable to chew or snus, it wouldn't be that high. At one point in my smoking days, I used to roll my own with pipe tobacco, because of the number of flavors available. The tax for roll your own being 12 times as high as the tax on pipe tobacco, then even a tax rate comparable to pipe tobacco wouldn't be TOO bad.

The federal tax rates don't really paint a very accurate picture though, state taxes can be even higher than the federal taxes. The cost of cigarettes is about triple in a lot of states, due more to state taxes than federal taxes. Yet even state taxes don't impact chew, snuff, snus, pipe tobacco, roll-your-own, and cigars as much as they do cigarettes.

The federal tax on 20 cigs might only be just over a dollar, but the total tax effect on a pack of cigs is about 4 dollars when state taxes are included.

Here a can of chew costs about the same as it did 15 years ago. (from 3.00 to about 3.80 in 15 years) A pack of cigarettes is MORE than triple what it was 15 years ago. (from 1.88 a pack to about 6.80 a pack in 15 years time).