Tobacco is the most highly taxed consumer product in the United States. The tools on this page allow you to explore state tax rates and the effects tax policy and tobacco regulations can have on state revenues, smuggling, and effective tax rates for different income groups.
2 min read
Growing cigarette tax levels and differentials have made cigarette smuggling both a national problem and a lucrative criminal enterprise.
6 min read
Even if tobacco tax increases generate more revenue in the short run, the shrinking tax base guarantees long-run revenue declines.
7 min read
The excise tax family is growing. Over the last decade, several products have become subject to excise taxes or are in the process of becoming so. Given this development, it is more crucial than ever that lawmakers, businesses, and consumers understand the possibilities and, more importantly, limitations of excise tax application.
77 min read
This web tool allows taxpayers to see how cigarette tax revenues have changed since 1955. Across almost all states, a clear pattern of volatility emerges. Tax rate hikes are met with a momentary bump in revenue, followed by a falloff.
2 min read
New nicotine products, along with a greater consciousness about the dangers of smoking, have prompted millions to give up smoking. This has contributed to federal and state excise tax collections on tobacco products declining since 2010. Our new report outlines the best way to tax nicotine products based on health outcomes and revenue stability.
49 min read
Retail prices make poor targets for excise tax policy, often reflecting factors that have little to do with the underlying reasons for which an excise tax is levied in the first place. Unfortunately, the World Health Organization (WHO) has a growing preference for using tax share of retail price (tax incidence) as a primary policy target.
6 min read
Short FormBritish taxation on the American colonies was a major catalyst for the American Revolution, but most of the tax revolts leading up to the war were in response to one tax type: excise taxes.
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Academic research has continually found that making alternative nicotine products to cigarettes more expensive results in fewer smokers switching to less harmful products.
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Two bills in Oklahoma and Louisiana shift towards a weight-based system for taxing moist snuff tobacco (MST), a policy that ensures neutral taxation across products and less revenue volatility.
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Cigarette smokers in the European Union pay far more in excise taxes than they do for the cigarettes themselves. Our latest map illustrates the wide variance in cigarette excise taxes across EU Member States.
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Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
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Delaware Governor Matt Meyer (D) has proposed a new state budget that includes roughly $18.9 million in additional annual revenue from higher tobacco taxes.
4 min read
The vaping industry has grown rapidly in recent decades, becoming a well-established product category and a viable alternative to cigarettes for those trying to quit smoking. US states levy a variety of tax structures on vaping products.
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Coming into 2026, several states are eyeing new or increased Alternative Tobacco Product (ATP) taxes.
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As states grapple with taxing the evolving tobacco and nicotine market, policymakers should carefully consider the tax mix they implement.
Although New York’s 2027 budget proposal avoids tax increases on income, sales, and property taxes, it is full of policy proposals that threaten the long-run integrity of the state’s finances and harm New York taxpayers.
5 min read
Forty-three states will ring in 2026 with notable tax changes. Eight states will see reduced individual income tax rates in the new year while four states will see reduced corporate income tax rates.
30 min read
To design an effective excise tax policy around smoking tobacco & nicotine products, it is crucial to consider the concept of harm reduction.
6 min read
Cigarette tax avoidance costs states billions in forgone tax revenue and necessitates additional spending on enforcement of the ineffective policies.
6 min read
Tobacco is the most highly taxed consumer product in the United States. The tools on this page allow you to explore state tax rates and the effects tax policy and tobacco regulations can have on state revenues, smuggling, and effective tax rates for different income groups.
2 min read
Excise taxes are regressive, and other alternatives are frequently available to incentivize behavior change.
6 min read
The State Tax Competitiveness Index enables policymakers, taxpayers, and business leaders to gauge how their states’ tax systems compare. While there are many ways to show how much state governments collect in taxes, the Index evaluates how well states structure their tax systems and provides a road map for improvement.
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Creative destruction—coined by famed economist Joseph Schumpeter—is the idea that new innovations disrupt and “destroy” existing economic structures as they create better and more efficient products and processes.
4 min read
Countries and global organizations should recognize the harms caused by cigarette smuggling and the fact that this illicit trade is a direct result of exorbitant tax policies.
5 min read
Even if tobacco tax increases generate more revenue in the short run, the shrinking tax base guarantees long-run revenue declines.
7 min read