This bill creates new taxes and revises the state tax structure for cigarettes, vapor products, and other tobacco products. It adds a new cigarette tax of $0.015 per cigarette with revenue deposited into the state general fund; establishes a new volumetric tax on vapor products of $0.30 per milliliter for most vapor products and $0.10 per milliliter for an accessible container of solution greater than five milliliters, with vapor tax revenue split 50% to the Andy Hill cancer research endowment fund match transfer account (RCW 43.348.080) and 50% to the foundational public health services account (RCW 82.25.015) and stated to supplement, not supplant, general fund investments. The act takes effect October 1, 2025. The bill also revises tobacco product taxes: cigars (except little cigars) are taxed at 95% of the taxable sales price not to exceed $0.72 per cigar; other tobacco products are taxed at 100.05% of taxable sales price with potential reductions while a federal modified risk tobacco product order is in effect (50% reduction under 21 U.S.C. §387k(g)(1); 25% under 21 U.S.C. §387k(g)(2)); moist snuff is taxed on net weight with specified per-can and per-ounce calculations; little cigars are taxed per cigar equal to the cigarette tax under chapter 82.24 RCW. Tobacco product taxes and the cigarette tax are imposed when a distributor brings, makes, manufactures, ships, transports, stores, or handles those products for sale in Washington, and the department must collect the vapor product tax from the consumer if the distributor did not pay it. Moneys collected from tobacco products are deposited into the state general fund. Statutory changes include adding a new section to chapter 82.24 RCW and amending RCW 82.25.010 and RCW 82.26.020, with references to RCW 82.24.020 and 82.24.026. The extracted text does not define key terms used (for example, "vapor products," "accessible container," "distributor," or which specific "department" is meant), and several tax calculations depend on the cigarette tax rate in chapter 82.24 RCW and other cross-referenced provisions that are not included here.

If enacted, this bill will raise the per-unit tax burden on cigarettes, vapor products, cigars and other tobacco items, which is likely to push higher costs onto distributors, retailers and ultimately consumers. Money from cigarette and other tobacco product taxes will flow into the state general fund, while revenue from vapor products will be split evenly between the Andy Hill cancer research endowment match account and the foundational public health services account, intended to add to existing funding for cancer research and public health. Distributors will face new immediate tax liabilities when they bring, make, store, ship or handle these products for sale in Washington, and the state department must step in to collect from consumers if distributors fail to pay, creating new compliance and cash-flow obligations for industry. How the law is applied in practice is partly unclear from the provided text because key definitions (for example exactly which items are covered as “vapor products,” who counts as a “distributor,” and what the cigarette tax reference rate is for some calculations) are not included. The changes would take effect October 1, 2025, so affected businesses and state agencies would need to prepare for the new collection and remittance rules by that date.