HALIFAX – Cigarettes, tobacco, and vaping products are all about to get more expensive in Nova Scotia.

The price bump comes in the form of a tax hike on tobacco and a brand new tax on vaping products – all outlined in the provincial government’s newly released 2020-2021 budget.

Along with new taxes on vaping products, the government also announced new permitting requirements for anyone selling vaping products. The specifics of the new permits are still hazy, but they will come into effect July 1. The province will require anyone looking for a permit to pay.

As for the vaping taxes, on September 15 consumers will start paying an additional 20 percent tax on any vaping-related devices. Vaping liquid will also be taxed at 50 cents per milliliter.

These new measures make Nova Scotia the second province in Canada to introduce permitting and taxes on vaping products. In April, the province will also introduce a ban on flavoured vaping products, similar to one that already exists on tobacco.

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In her budget address today, Finance Minister Karen Casey said the new taxes and permits are designed to keep more young people from vaping, calling the rules “a small price to pay for youth health.”

Tobacco tax at midnight

Meanwhile, the government isn’t wasting any time bumping up taxes on tobacco.

At midnight Tuesday, taxes on cigarettes will jump by two cents, to 29.52 cents per cigarette. That means the cost of an average pack of smokes will jump about 50 cents.

Taxes on cigars will also go up to 75 percent, up from 60 percent, and taxes on fine cut and other forms of tobacco will all increase to 40 cents per gram.

Tobacco tax revenue going down

All told, the province says the new tobacco tax will bring in an extra $17.4-million this year. That will bring total tax revenues from tobacco to more than $182-million for the year.

However, even with the new, higher taxes that $182-million is still lower than last year when the province brought in $205-million in tobacco taxes.

The province says dipping tobacco tax revenues are driven mostly by a decrease in consumption, and not consumers turning to the black market.

Meanwhile, the new taxes on vaping products should bring in about $2.3-million. That number should be significantly bigger in later budgets when a whole year of taxes can be collected.