Proposals looking to combat nicotine addiction by limiting access to e-cigarettes are misguided

On January 26, Governor Walz unveiled the “Minnesota COVID-19 Recovery Budget“. Among other things, other things, the budget will raise taxes on cigarettes and vapor products. This is intended to reduce smoking, especially among youth. In the same spirit, the Minnesota House recently passed a bill to increase taxes, cigars and tobacco products. Another bill, to fully ban flavored tobacco products, is under consideration.

However, well-intentioned, research suggests that these proposals are misguided.

For one, cigarette tax hikes encourage smuggling and send Minnesotans to neighboring states. In the same way, banning flavored tobacco cigarettes also benefits neighboring states, without reducing usage.

Leaving that aside, it is especially counterproductive that proposals to reduce smoking are heavily focused on reducing access to e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes are recognized as a useful tool in smoking cessation. A 2014 study that analyzed cigarette cessation, for instance, found that

Among smokers who have attempted to stop without professional support, those who use e‐cigarettes are more likely to report continued abstinence than those who use a licensed NRT product bought over‐the‐counter or no aid to cessation. This difference persists after adjusting for a range of smoker characteristics, such as nicotine dependence.

Research additionally shows that e-cigarettes are less harmful than traditional cigarettes. Due to the lack of combustion, e-cigarettes have fewer carcinogens and toxins relative to traditional cigarettes. Studies have documented that e-cigarettes could be up to 95 percent less harmful than traditional cigarettes. Raising taxes on vaping products or banning flavored cigarettes may very well do more harm to smokers willing to quit.

CDC evidence

A 2017 CDC study found that between 2011 and 2017, increased e-cigarette use was associated with less use of traditional cigarettes among young people. Other evidence also found that among adolescents, banning e-cigarettes was associated with increased cigarette smoking.

The Wall Street Journal explained back in 2015 that

Electronic cigarettes might even be a deterrent to tobacco addiction. Their use by high-school youth tripled between 2011 and 2013, rising from 1.5% to 4.5%, according to CDC data, and then, according to a University of Michigan study, skyrocketed in 2014, when 16% of 10th-graders and 17% of 12th-graders reported using them. That study reports a decline in youth smoking to a historically low level in these years, with smoking among 10th-graders dropping to 7.2% from 11.8% and among 12th-graders falling to 13.6% from 18.7%.

Results matter more than intentions. And when it comes to smoking, policies that limit access to e-cigarettes could be pushing more people to use cigarettes — the more harmful option.