A new proposal in the European Parliament could see vapes taxed across the EU to help fund future cancer programmes.
According to a report by Romanian MEP Vlad Voiculescu, the bloc should raise €2 billion through new levies on nicotine products and ultra-processed foods to support its flagship cancer plan.
Push for new taxes
The proposal suggests setting aside a share of future EU tobacco taxes – currently under discussion as part of the Tobacco Excise Directive – alongside new taxes on highly processed foods.
Voiculescu said: “The logic for this call is straightforward: tobacco causes 27 per cent of all cancers, and unhealthy diets are a major driver of cancer risk, so revenues generated from taxing those very products should flow back into combating the diseases they cause.”
The idea is to create a more stable funding stream for the EU’s long-term cancer strategy, known as the European Beating Cancer Plan.
Questions over effectiveness and funding
However, the report raises concerns about how progress is being measured.
Voiculescu wrote that the EU’s claimed “90 per cent implementation figure” does not necessarily show whether policies have actually “improved survival or reached patients.”
There are also wider concerns about funding. The European Court of Auditors has warned that future financing for the cancer plan could be at risk under the next long-term EU budget.
Political resistance likely
The proposal is likely to face opposition. Some MEPs, particularly from the centre-right European People’s Party, have already pushed back against stricter measures on tobacco and alcohol, and could resist new EU-wide taxes.
There are also signs of hesitation within the European Commission. Plans for EU-wide taxes on ultra-processed foods have previously been dropped, with further action dependent on new research into their health effects.
Wider policy shift
The report also calls for stricter conditions on how EU cancer funding is used, suggesting countries should have to demonstrate improvements in screening, treatment or healthcare infrastructure.
It proposes a more flexible, “tiered” system that takes account of differences between countries’ healthcare systems.
“A country like Romania would not be held to the same absolute targets as the Netherlands,” Voiculescu said.
What happens next
MEPs are expected to debate the report and propose amendments in April.
While the plans are still at an early stage, they signal a potential shift towards using taxation on nicotine products – including vapes – as a funding tool for EU health policy.
