Have no fear, e-cigarette users, the state will not be taxing your devices.
Credit: Getty Images
A plan that would have levied a tax on increasingly popular e-cigarettes has been dropped after Massachusetts legislators were not receptive to the idea.
Officials from Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration had in recent weeks been asking state lawmakers about their thoughts on the tax, according to the Globe.
Because it did not get enough support, Patrick’s budget proposal due later this month will not include the e-cigarette tax. The plan would have made Massachusetts the second state to tax the product.
As e-cigarettes become increasingly popular, so too is the fight over whether to regulate and tax them.
The Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association estimated that more than 3.5 million Americans use e-cigarettes; total sales were expected to hit $1.7 billion by the end of 2013.
At the State House, a bill that would “modernize” tobacco control and regulate the sale of products to anyone under 18 has been working its way through committees, but has yet to be voted on by the state Senate or House of Representatives.
Last month, the Massachusetts Medical Society voted to oppose the marketing, sale and use of e-cigarettes by people under 18 years old.
Follow Michael Naughton on Twitter @metrobosmike.
