Cheaper tobacco products to cut smoking? Here’s why some think it could work in SC

To help about 1 in 8 South Carolinians quit smoking cigarettes, some tobacco products could become cheaper.

A state proposal would cut the sin tax on heated cigarettes in half, from 57 cents per pack to 28.5 cents. An amended version of the bill would also create an excise tax on vapes, which heat liquid containing nicotine rather than tobacco leaf. Traditional cigarettes burn tobacco leaf, rather than heating it.

Heated cigarettes are taxed like regular cigarettes in South Carolina, according to the South Carolina Revenue and Fiscal Affairs office. Vapes don’t have an excise tax, often called sin tax.

The change is intended to help people quit smoking combustible cigarettes, which are more dangerous than some alternatives, said state Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, who sponsored one of the bills.

“If I want individuals to move toward less awful products, to me, that makes a good case for having an excise tax lower because you’re doing behavior modification,” Davis said during a hearing Tuesday.

But others, including the American Cancer Society, warned heated cigarettes are still harmful and should be taxed like traditional cigarettes.

“Heated tobacco products are likely to be safer than combustible tobacco, but they are harmful to human health. They may be safer than combustible tobacco cigarettes, but these products are not safe,” said Anthony Alberg, an epidemiologist studying the health impacts of tobacco at the University of South Carolina.

Heated cigarettes are not currently sold in South Carolina, but they have been in the past, according to a report from the South Carolina Revenue and Fiscal Affairs office. The products heat processed tobacco, rather than burning it, but users still inhale nicotine and other flavors.

There isn’t scientific evidence showing heated cigarettes help people quit smoking, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention information page. There is not currently sufficient research into short- and long-health effects on the products, according to the agency.

Just under 12% of South Carolina adults smoke cigarettes, according to state public health data from 2023. Also, 1.5% of high school students smoke cigarettes but vape at higher rates, according to 2024 data.

A small panel of senators debated twin bills from both chambers and passed the House version Tuesday afternoon.

Before the vote, Raquel Mitchell, the deputy director of Moms for America, said she wished products like heated cigarettes were on the market when she was trying to quit smoking.

“I want for other people who are trying to come off the cigarettes an opportunity to have something else that they can use to aid them in going away from the regular cigarettes, so this is something near and dear to my heart,” Mitchell said.

New tax on vapes

While heated cigarettes will be cheaper, nicotine vapes could be taxed similarly to traditional cigarettes, state Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, said.

About 9% of South Carolina high school students used e-cigarettes, according to state public health data from 2024. A smaller share, about 7.5%, of adults use e-cigarettes, according to 2023 state public health data.

Hutto’s successful amendment would put a five cents per milliliter of consumable nicotine liquid solution tax on vapes and e-cigarettes.