The government, at state and federal levels, imposes excise taxes on combustible cigarettes. Principally, the taxes serve to offset the costs smokers impose on non-smokers through increased healthcare demands, deter use (especially among minors), and raise revenue.
Since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was tasked with regulating tobacco products in 2009, a host of safer nicotine alternatives to cigarettes have entered the market, including e-cigarettes, modern oral nicotine, and heated tobacco. The FDA has authorized these products as part of a harm reduction strategy so that smokers who are unwilling or unable to quit cigarettes through traditional methods can switch
