“Massachusetts’ ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products has shifted rather than reduced tobacco consumption, according to Ulrik Boesen, senior policy analyst with the Center for State Tax Policy at the Tax Foundation. At first sight, early data suggests a public health success: sales of cigarette tax stamps in the Bay State have declined 9.2 percent in the first half of 2020 compared to the same months last year. However, sales of tax stamps in the Northeast region have remained stable suggesting Massachusetts consumers are now buying their tobacco products in neighboring states. “In addition, the ban on flavored tobacco highlights the complications of contradictory tax and regulatory policy, the instability of excise taxes that go beyond pricing in the cost of externalities, and the public risks of driving consumers into the black market through excessive taxation or regulation.””
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Massachusetts Flavor Ban Drives Users Elsewhere
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