IOWA
Analysis, Commentary, Musings
IOWA
Analysis, Commentary, Musings
WISCONSIN
TOBACCO HARM REDUCTION 101: WISCONSIN
January 9, 2020
Key Points:
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Wisconsin’s vaping industry provided more than $363 million in economic activity in 2018 while generating 1,418 direct vaping-related jobs. Sales of disposables and prefilled cartridges in Wisconsin exceeded $11.6 million in 2016.
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As of January 9, 2020, WDHS has reported 103 confirmed and probable cases of vaping-related lung illness. WDHS notes the role of THC in the outbreak, but does not provide thorough data. WDHS earns a B- for its reporting on vaping-related lung illnesses.
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In 2017, 2.1 percent of Wisconsin high school students reported daily use of vapor products. More data is needed.
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Only 5 percent of FDA retail compliance checks resulted in sales of e-cigarettes to minors from January 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019.
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Wisconsin spends very little on tobacco prevention. In 2019, Wisconsin dedicated only $5.3 million on tobacco control, or less than 1 percent of what the state received in tobacco settlement payments and taxes.
E-CIGARETTE TAX WILL VAPORIZE HARM REDUCTION IN THE BADGER STATE
April 22, 2019
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Senate Bill 59 and Assembly Bill 56 would tax vaping products “at the rate of 71 percent of the manufacturer’s list price.”
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The tax would apply to all e-cigarette products, “regardless of whether the product contains nicotine.”
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The bills are in response to Gov.Tony Evers’ budget proposal seeking tax parity between combustible cigarettes and e-cigarettes and vaping devices.
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Because sin taxes are meant to discourage use, they should not be applied to tobacco harm reduction products such as e-cigarettes.
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Approximately three million Americans have used e-cigarettes and vaping devices to quit smoking, and a 2019 study found the use of these products to be “twice as effective as nicotine replacement [therapy] in helping smokers quit.”
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Notable public health groups, including Public Health England, the Royal College of Physicians, American Cancer Society, and National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have found e-cigarettes are less harmful than combustible cigarettes.
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States are better off when residents switch from combustible cigarettes to e-cigarettes. In fact, one analysis estimated Medicaid savings could have amounted to $48 billion in 2012 if e-cigarettes had been adopted in place of combustible cigarettes by all Medicaid recipients who currently consume cigarettes.
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Wisconsin dedicates less than one percent of tobacco-related moneys on helping smokers quit.
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In 2018, Wisconsin received an estimated $791.1 million in tobacco settlement payments and taxes.
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In 2018, the Badger State spent only spent $5.3 million on tobacco prevention and cessation efforts.
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