Colombian Congress Proposes Increasing E-cigarette Taxes To Curb Youth Use

Colombian Congress proposes increasing e-cigarette taxes to curb youth use

Colombia's Congress has proposed a bill to increase taxes on tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, in response to rising rates of e-cigarette use among teenagers. The bill aims to reduce health risks associated with smoking through increased taxes and regulation, and the draft has received support from many parties.

According to Infobae on August 21, the Colombian Congress plans to increase taxes on tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.

According to the latest study on the consumption of psychoactive substances, the use of e-cigarettes among students aged 12 to 18 in Colombia has reached 11.2% in the past month. In order to curb this problem, Congress proposed a draft law on August 21 to increase taxes on traditional cigarettes and establish a new tax for e-cigarettes.

The draft has been supported by multiple scientific and civil organizations.

The legislative proposal not only aims to raise the price of Colombian cigarettes to a level comparable to other leading tobacco control countries in the Americas, but also plans to implement a unified tax structure for e-cigarettes and their components. In this way, all nicotine products will receive fair tax treatment under the new health regulations that will take effect in May this year.

Thanks to similar fiscal measures, tobacco consumption has fallen significantly over the past decade, from 8.3% in 2016 to 5.6% in 2021, according to the Colombian National Statistics Institute (Dane).

The draft states that promotions and price cuts for e-cigarettes have led to a sharp increase in underage consumption, so stricter tax policies are needed. The document also mentions that the goal of these measures is to reduce the 34,800 deaths related to smoking each year and raise about 14 billion Colombian pesos (about 3.5 million US dollars).

The proposal also focuses on combating the marketing strategies of tobacco companies targeting young people and vulnerable groups. Several organizations, such as the Anáas Foundation, Red PaPaz, the Colombian Anti-Cancer Association and the National Cancer Institute, have expressed support for the proposal.

One of the focuses of the bill is to protect the environment from pollution caused by disposable e-cigarettes and traditional cigarette butts.

These measures have the support of the Pan American Health Organization (OPS/OMS). At the same time, organizations such as the Colombian Pulmonary Society, the Colombian Internal Medicine Society (ACMI) and the Colombian Family Medicine Society have also expressed support.