A bill that would tax vaping products in the same way that current law taxes tobacco has cleared the House Oversight Committee and is prepared for a floor vote soon, according to Bloomberg. 

The bill, the Protecting American Lungs Act of 2019, creates the legal category "taxable nicotine" as distinct from cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco and other nonsynthetic nicotine products. The term ‘taxable nicotine’ means any nicotine which has been extracted, concentrated, or synthesized, such as that used for vaping products. The bill taxes vape liquid in a similar manner to small cigarettes as outlined in Sec. 5701(b)(1) of the U.S. tax code. That section of the code currently taxes small cigarettes (those weighing not more than 3 pounds per thousand) $50.33 per thousand. This same rate would apply per every 1,810 milligrams of nicotine. 

Bloomberg said the bill is estimated to raise $10 billion over 10 years. 

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), who sponsored the bill, was pleased with the bill's progress. 

“I applaud Chairman Neal and my colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee for acting swiftly and decisively to get vaping products out of the hands of young people. We must address this public health crisis now rather than waiting years to do so, as we did with cigarettes,” said Suozzi. “I look forward to the markup of my bipartisan legislation and hope that it will be passed by the House of Representatives in short order.”