Michigan lawmakers are proposing a 24 percent wholesale tax on vaping products as part of an effort to set regulatory frameworks around the industry.

A six-bill package from a bipartisan group of Michigan senators, Senate Bills 781-786, would set a tax on the products and raise the legal age for smoking tobacco and e-cigarette products to 21 to match up with the federal requirements signed into law in December.

If passed, the bills would also require vape retailers to be licensed and prevent retailers from marketing vaping products in a manner that could appeal to youth or young adults. The package would increase fines issued as penalties for people who sell tobacco or nicotine products to a minor.

Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint, told the Senate Regulatory Reform Committee this week he started with the 24 percent number to find a middle ground between no tax and the tax level on traditional tobacco products.

Overall, he said he’s hoping the bills will bring more certainty to retailers, consumers and other residents about Michigan’s vaping laws and regulations.

“There’s not a lot of clarity out there and we want to fix that,” he told lawmakers during a Senate Regulatory Reform Committee hearing this week. “We want to make sure these products are sold and taxed appropriately to prevent the spread of black market items and keep these products out of the hands of kids.”

The concept was supported at the committee level by Juul, one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of e-cigarette and vaping products, and retailers selling vaping products.

But representatives of several health organizations expressed concern that the bills as written wouldn’t go far enough and would ultimately do little to reduce tobacco use.

The bills haven’t yet been taken up for a committee vote and could see additional changes.

The proposal comes amid ongoing concerns over the safety of vapes and their popularity among young people.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, there have been 2,758 cases of vaping-related lung injury reported nationally and 64 deaths, and in Michigan, there have been 73 reported cases of vaping-related lung injury. The vaping additive vitamin E acetate has been linked to the health issues, and separate bills that recently passed the Michigan House would ban the substance in vaping products.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sought to temporarily ban the sale of flavored vaping products in retail stores and online through the emergency rule process, and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services declared youth vaping a public health emergency last year. The ban was blocked in court while legal challenges are pending.

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