Oregon’s E-Cigarette Tax Hike Takes Effect Friday

E-cigarettes will be taxed for the first time in Oregon beginning Friday, Jan. 1. Also, Oregon’s tax on combustible cigarettes will increase by $2 per pack after voters overwhelmingly approved Measure 108 last month.

Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), such as vaping and e-cigarette products, will be taxed at a rate of 65 percent of the wholesale purchase price. Oregon’s cigarette tax will now be $3.33 per pack, the sixth-highest in the nation and the highest on the West Coast.

In addition to saving lives, the cigarette tax increase is projected to raise nearly $135 million in annual revenue, according to data from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and Tobacconomics.

The new revenue will provide access to health care on the Oregon Health Plan at a time when health care coverage is critical, and fund the state’s tobacco prevention and cessation programs to help people quit tobacco successfully, according to a press release.