SC lawmakers debate taxing electronic cigarettes

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A House panel has approved a bill that would allow the state to tax electronic cigarettes.

The bill has little chance of passing this year, but supporters said Wednesday they wanted to send it along to the House Ways and Means Committee to start debate on how to handle the new technology.

E-cigarettes use a heating element to convert nicotine into an inhalable water vapor. The process eliminates the dangerous smoke cigarettes produce, so it can be an alternative to smoking.

The subcommittee meeting Wednesday created some strange partnerships. A representative from tobacco company Reynolds American supported the bill because the tax would be smaller than the traditional cigarette tax. Someone with Altria Group Inc., the largest U.S. tobacco company, said e-cigarettes were too new to tax.