Pam Boyd / Vail Daily
EAGLE — Eagle County ballot question 1A jumped to an early, sizeable lead as initial election results were reported Tuesday night.
With 9,010 ballots counted, the measure was leading 6,134 votes in favor to 2,801 opposed. That translated into a 69% to 31% margin of victory.
Ballot question 1A sought voter support for a hefty tax on tobacco and nicotine product sales — 20 cents per cigarette or $4 per pack and a 40% tax on the sale of all other tobacco and nicotine products. Tobacco-use cessation products such as nicotine patches and gum are exempt from the tax.
At a watch party in Eagle, proponents of the measure were jubilant.
“It is such a victory for our community and our youth,” said Mandy Ivanov, Eagle County Public Health and Environment Policy and Partnerships Strategist. “I am proud of our county that we are leading the charge to approve measures to reduce the impact of tobacco.”
The tobacco tax is one of three key elements the county has promoted to reduce tobacco and nicotine product use. The other actions include raising the legal purchase age to 21 years and instituting a licensing procedure for retail outlets who sell the products.
As they reflected on the strong support in Tuesday’s voting, the 1A team noted dozens of local youth were instrumental in publicizing the growing teen vaping issue.
“It has been their advocacy and volunteerism that brought this issue forward,” said Chris Lindley, chair of the Healthy Eagle County group.