With less than a month left in this year’s half of the two-year General Assembly, new legislation was filed in Delaware’s House that would raise taxes on tobacco and nicotine products and implement higher fees for licensed tobacco sellers and vending machine operators. Delaware’s cigarette tax is currently $2.10. The proposal would increase it to $3.60 per pack.
The sponsors said they hope this will discourage people—especially the young—from using tobacco, and that the extra revenue would help address the half-billion-dollar estimated cost of treating tobacco-related health issues in The First State each year.
The legislation also would update the definition of tobacco products to “include any products containing, made of, or derived from tobacco or nicotine, rather than only those made primarily from tobacco.”
In addition to raising the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1.50, this bill would raise the tax on other tobacco products from 30% to 45% of the wholesale price, increase the moist snuff tax from $0.92 to $1.23 per ounce, expand the vapor product tax from $0.05 to $0.25 per milliliter, increase fees for wholesalers and affixing agents from $200 to $400, increase fees for retailers from $50 to $100, increase vending machine fees from $15 to $30 per machine, and increase the replacement fee for lost or defaced licenses from $10 to $20.
If the bill passes, the new tax rates would take effect September 1st, while the licensing changes would take effect January 1st, 2026.
