Colombian Green Alliance congresswoman Carolina Giraldo has put forward a proposal to increase the local tobacco tax and set in place a tax on vaping products.

The initiative is being presented both as a source of income for the State and also as “in favour of the fundamental right to health.” However highlights the World Vapers Association (WVA) in a release, given the scientific evidence in favour of vapes for smoking cessation, the initiative is doomed “to fail in its proposed objectives.”

The initiative is failing to consider the testimonies and the experience of thousands of users and vaping entrepreneurs in the country, and Congresswoman Giraldo has not consulted with any of the affected groups about her proposal.

Vape taxes have unintended consequences

Meanwhile, in line with predictions by multiple public health and smoking cessation experts, a recent study by Yale Professor Abigail Friedman and Georgia State University Professor Michael Pesko, has confirmed that vape taxes have serious unintended consequences by leading to increased smoking rates.

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