Changes in price, income and e-cigarette affordability for young people in the USA from 2015 to 2021

E-cigarette products are the most popular tobacco/nicotine product used among youth and young adults in the USA. While emerging research has shown that e-cigarette taxes increase their price, no study to date has examined e-cigarette tax burdens nor their affordability for youth and young adults.

Using real (2021 US dollars) prices per mL of e-liquid data from NielsenIQ and annual real (2021 US dollars) personal income data from Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, we calculate relative income prices and examine average annual percentage changes in affordability using Joinpoint trend analysis from 2015 to 2021. In addition, we use tax data to calculate e-cigarette tax burdens as a percentage of price per 1 mL of e-liquid.

In all states analysed, tax burdens increased from 2015 to 2021. E-cigarette prices decreased considerably from 2019 to 2021; in 2021 the real (2021 US dollars) average price of 1 mL of e-liquid was US$4.45. E-cigarettes on average became more affordable for all age groups and states; however, e-cigarettes tended to be less affordable in states with ad-valorem tax structures. On average, 16-17-year-olds needed 31% of their annual income to purchase 100 mL of e-liquid, whereas 18-19-year-olds, 20-24-year-olds and 25-34-year-olds needed 9%, 3% and 1%, respectively.

E-cigarettes have become more affordable for young people, but less so in states with ad-valorem tax structures. Policy efforts should focus on reducing e-cigarette affordability, especially for youth, through tax-induced increases in e-cigarette prices to levels high enough to outpace income growth.