The Vermont House has passed legislation that would impose a 92-percent tax on e-cigarettes as a way to dissuade teens from vaping.
Democratic Representative George Till, who is a physician, says kids who use the highly addictive products are four times more likely to become smokers. He says legislators are also working on measures to raise the age to purchase them to 21 and to prevent internet sales of vapor products into Vermont.
Republican Governor Phil Scott said in his budget address in January that he supported such a tax.
Republican Representative James Gregoire supports the tax but proposed an amendment to exclude people who use the devices for substances other than nicotine, such as medical marijuana.
U.S. health officials have called the surge in youth using e-cigarettes an "epidemic."
According to the Tax Foundation, eight states and the District of Columbia have an excise tax on vapor products. Dozens of other states have considered various taxes on them.
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