A proposal to increase the state tobacco tax by USD 2 (EUR 1.75) per package is back before the California legislature, this time to include e-cigarettes, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Increasing the tobacco levy is one of several anti-smoking measures before a special session on health issues that include increasing the smoking age from 18 to 21 and restricting public use of e-cigarettes, the newspaper said on its website. A similar measure failed in the regular session, the Times said.
California currently levies a USD 0.87 per pack tax on cigarettes, much lower than the nation leading USD 4.35 state tax levied by New York. Federal tax is USD 1.01 per pack.