A bill in the General Assembly of the U.S. state of Georgia would raise the state tax on vaping and other tobacco products and use the proceeds to improve health care.
Introduced by House Representative Ron Stephens, two bills in the contention could make the tax possible, according to 13WAMZ.
House bills 191 and 192 have the same language but their numbers are different. Bill 191 states a $0.57 tax per pack of 20 cigarettes and a $0.05 per fluid milliliter for vapor products in a closed system. For an open system, it would be a 7% tax on the wholesale cost price.
Bill 192 states a $0.37 tax per pack of 20 cigarettes and a 15% on vapor products at the wholesale cost.
Shabbir Hussain is a smoker himself and says using the money to help fund Georgia’s healthcare programs is a good thing.
“And $0.20 is not something people would worry about, and if that would benefit the health system, they should go for it,” Hussain said.
Last month, House Speaker Jon Burns said he was open to another healthcare proposal that has gone nowhere in the past – raising the state’s tax on tobacco products.