The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has expressed concern about the European Commission's leaked plan to tax electronic cigarette products, citing worries that this could have a negative impact on public health. According to an article in the Financial Times, the plan aims to "bring the taxation of new smoking products, such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco, into line with that of cigarettes.
Michael Landl, Director of the World Vaping Alliance, warns that imposing higher taxes on e-cigarette products will have a devastating impact on those attempting to quit smoking, and will likely result in a significant increase in the black market for e-cigarette products.
The committee claims that increasing taxes will improve public health, but in fact the opposite is true. For regular smokers trying to quit, lower-risk alternatives such as electronic cigarettes must be affordable. If the committee wants to alleviate the burden of smoking on public health, they must make e-cigarettes cheaper and more accessible, not less so.
The differing taxation of traditional cigarette and electronic cigarette products is essential for many people. Furthermore, high taxes on electronic cigarette products are particularly harmful to those in poor economic conditions because they are less likely to switch to electronic cigarettes, and this demographic represents the largest proportion of current smokers.
High taxes have the most impact on the most vulnerable groups. During times of multiple crises and people struggling to make ends meet, making e-cigarettes more expensive is the opposite of what we need. Policymakers must understand that taxing e-cigarettes will force people to resume smoking or turn to the black market, which is an undesirable situation. In times of crisis, people should not be subjected to unscientific and ideological anti-e-cigarette efforts. This needs to stop." Randall said.
The World Vapers’ Alliance has urged the European Union Commission and its member states to follow scientific evidence and avoid imposing higher taxes on e-cigarette products if they want to reduce the burden of smoking on public health. Availability and affordability of e-cigarette products must be ensured.
Instead of cracking down on e-cigarettes, the EU must ultimately accept reducing tobacco harm. What we need is risk-based regulation. The harm of e-cigarettes is 95% lower than smoking, so they cannot be treated the same way as traditional smoking," Landl added.
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