Skip to main content

Colorado Government vs. Vaping



Vaping has become the new trend across America as a transformation from cigarettes to electronic e-cigarettes. E-cigs are battery operated, heating container that consists of the liquid nicotine.

Taxation on vaping and increased taxation on other nicotine products is a priority for Governor Polis. On May 1, Governor Polis won approval in the state House and was given a hearing in the Senate all in the same day.

June 20, the Legislative Counsel Staff Non-partisan Services for Colorado's Legislature, published a memorandum discussing the issues related to electronic nicotine devices.

This memorandum gives us an overview of the Colorado laws and regulations on E-cigarettes. The Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), usage is constantly monitored by the national and state level. In the Colorado state survey of 2017, 26% of high school students reported the current use of e-cigs, which put Colorado at the highest usage of nicotine in the nation. The most commonly reported reason for vaping among young adults is because of family usage or simply the enjoying of the many flavors.  
This memorandum also includes increasing the purchasing age from 18 to 21. The Colorado law restricts the purchasing of ENDS to 18 years or older already.  A few Colorado towns have already implemented the higher purchasing age to 21 years, in order to purchase any tobacco products as well as electronic cigarettes. These towns in Colorado are, Aspen, Basalt, Carbondale, and Avon. 
 
ENDS are not currently taxed in the state of Colorado but Governor Polis intends to make sure they are. Governors Polis' idea to put taxation on electronic nicotine devices would generate around $3 million annually. This revenue from the taxation on ENDS would allow Governor Polis to focus his primary campaign idea on expanding preschools in Colorado. The increased taxation appeared on the ballot in November to the Colorado voters and it passed with a majority vote. 

 Another implementation on vaping is when Governor Polis signed the Colorado HB 1076, in May, amending the "Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act,"  This amendment adds the definition of electronic smoking devices (ESD), to all restricted smoking areas and postings of non- smoking areas in hotels and businesses. 
  
Adding taxation and more restrictions on e-cigs will allow for less deaths and hospitalizations of individuals using these nicotine products. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there have been 33 reported deaths across the states from vaping and 2,290 lung injury cases from vaping have been reported as of November 20, 2019. 













According to the Colorado Department of Public Health discusses the long term health issues related to the inhaled vapor e-cigs that could contain cancer - elements.  Colorado alone has not had any recorded deaths from the vaping lung illness from e-cigs. But there has been around 10 reported lung related illnesses from vaping in Colorado.  The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has taken action to prevent a massive lung disease outbreak within the state with making this issue aware to the public and providing information on what to do if you have certain lung related symptoms. Colorado Department of Health is advising the public to stay away from any vaping products that contain THC in them as well as creating public educational campaigning to educate the general public about the dangers of vaping. 






















Work Cited: 
“Vaping and Lung Illness.” Department of Public Health and Environment, 21 Oct. 2019, www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/vaping-lung-illness.

“Outbreak of Lung Injury Associated with the Use of E-Cigarette, or Vaping, Products.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 26 Nov. 2019, www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/severe-lung-disease.html.

Karlik, Michael. “Cigarette, Vaping Taxes Pass at Local Level.” Colorado Politics, 25 Nov. 2019, www.coloradopolitics.com/news/cigarette-vaping-taxes-pass-at-local-level/article_b99f057e-00b4-11ea-a5be-578eb61682f7.html.

Bacon, John. “Vaping-Related Illnesses Increase Again, but at a Slightly Slower Rate. At Least 33 Have Died.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 18 Oct. 2019, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/10/17/vaping-related-deaths-and-injuries-rise-slower-rate-cdc-says/4007966002/.

Tabachnik, Sam. “Second Vape-Related Mystery Illness Confirmed in Colorado.” The Denver Post, The Denver Post, 30 Aug. 2019, www.denverpost.com/2019/08/29/vaping-illness-colorado-second-case-confirmed/.

Garcia, Nic. “Colorado Gov. Polis' Vaping Tax Moving Quickly through General Assembly.” The Denver Post, The Denver Post, 2 May 2019, www.denverpost.com/2019/05/01/vaping-tobacco-tax-colorado-senate/.


Comments

  1. Bridget MurphyDecember 7, 2019 at 9:09 PM

    Rylie,
    I think you did a nice job explaining the topic and how Governor Polis, the General Assembly and Colorado voters have each dealt with this issue. I did not know that this state had the highest use of nicotine in the country (at least in 2017). I agree that placing restrictions and taxes on e-cigs is a good step towards less deaths and hospitalizations concerning nicotine use. I like how you include both the political aspect of this issue as well as the public health side. Your maps and graphs are helpful visual and statistical aids that nicely reinforce your post. Really interesting subject!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Brennan LittleDecember 10, 2019 at 7:12 AM

    Rylie,

    I think you did a very good job of summarizing the current political situation regarding vaping in Colorado. Not only that, but you added some facts from the public health side of things as well which helped provide some insight as to why legislation concerning this issue has come up in recent years. I personally find the scariest aspect of vaping to be the unknown long-term effects and the belief that they possess cancer elements.

    I think people are just now starting to realize the seriousness behind this massive problem, but I still find myself shocked at the levels of addiction and carelessness seen even here on campus with e-cigarettes. I know people that have been trying to quit vaping on-and-off since high school and have yet to do so because not only are they so clearly addicted but part of them just doesn't care about the side effects. Another frustrating aspect is that since there are no confirmed long-term effects, they just tell themselves that what they are doing is okay. I am very happy to see this preventative legislation being put in place and I only hope more of it is soon to come.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Kaylin BrooksDecember 11, 2019 at 11:01 AM

    Good job! This is a well written and very interesting piece! Vaping is a very serious issue in Colorado as you stated! I think that the amount of lung disease, deaths, and hospitalization related to electronic smoking is insane and scary. The states actions are strict, but if kids are the primary people smoking from electronic vapes then there should be action done to protect them.

    ReplyDelete
  4. GraceCDecember 11, 2019 at 4:19 PM

    You mentioned that one of the main reasons for vaping is enjoying the flavor. That is such an important factor that governments should focus on banning instead of taxation. I recently watched a city council meeting for the city of Fort Collins and one of the council members, Ken Summers, was arguing that we don't know off enough to ban flavors, but I think it's the complete opposite. Instead of punishing people that vape, try and get to the root of the problem, the why, which is the addicting flavor.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Eddy BaisleyDecember 11, 2019 at 5:02 PM

    Rylie, thanks for your post regarding the new trend of vaping and how the State of Colorado is handling the issue. As a member of the ASCSU Senate, I was able to here a presentation by some of our campus officials about how CSU as a state institution is going about handling the fairly new issue of vaping and how they are being pushed by the state government to implement the new vaping regulations. Which is why I really enjoyed reading your post about this topic. With that being said, I am not a cigarette smoker or a vape user and am usually all for regulating the industry. And although I do agree with the State's attempt to establish more nicotine taxes, I don't think CSU is going to be able to enforce and punish e-smokers for smoking in the "non-smoking" area's which is all of campus. Students already don't obey the no smoking rule with regular cigarettes so I doubt these new regulations will keep e-cigs off of campus at all. But I am happy that our government is seeking to make sure this industry is more regulated

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TABOR & Proposition CC: Providing Context to Colorado's Tax Problem

Edward Baisley Prof. Matthew Hitt POLS 304 Dec. 2019 Blog Post 3 (TABOR and Proposition CC) Colorado's tax system is very unique in comparison to pretty much every other state in the U.S. Arguably the biggest aspect of the tax system that is unique is the amendment to the Colorado Constitution known as TABOR or the Tax Payers Bill of Rights. This amendment which was drafted into law in 1992, has many implications for Colorado's state and local governments. One of the main implications is that TABOR requires the state and local governments of Colorado to acquire voter approval before any tax increase can be implemented. Some other more less known implications are detailed by Denver Post author Anna Staver, she explains that TABOR: “ Limits how many tax dollars governments can keep … It’s called the TABOR cap, anything a government collects above the cap gets returned as a TABOR tax refund … (TABOR) Limits when lawmakers can ask voters to raise taxe...
1 comment
Read more

The Flawed American Electoral System

A free and fair election is one that is inclusive to all of the population. A democratic state requires active citizen participation to ensure equal representation. The framers of the constitution originally wanted the United States government to only be governed by educated white men. It was not until 1920 that the 19th amendment was passed that allowed white females to vote in America. Then it was not until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that allowed African-Americans the right to vote freely. There were many amendments and reforms throughout history that has changed our election system. Different changes to state election process will ensure an equitable election system. This is a highly debated legislative issue that goes back and forth for the past decade and into the 2020 election. It is crucial for such a powerful and free country to protect its proud democratic values.  There are still issues with the American election systems. There are a lot of holes in represe...
1 comment
Read more

The Ballot Initiative in Colorado

    One of the most distinctive features of the legislative process in Colorado is the prevalence of the ballot initiative. In the election this November, voters had the opportunity to approve their own laws. One of these laws included a proposition that would legalize sports betting.     This is not the first time that voters have had the ability to make hugely influential decisions. Voters have voted to legalize marijuana. In Colorado, they even approve tax increases because of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, or TABOR. This means that, unlike in other states, Colorado voters have legislative power of their own.      One of these most recent initiatives involved sports betting. Colorado would legalize sports betting, but sports betting would be taxed. This revenue would be used to fund plans to address Colorado's water problem. However, according to the Colorado Sun, the money from sports betting will not generate any money to address these water iss...
Post a Comment
Read more