Sixteen countries have called for vapes and other nicotine alternatives to be included in a European law that taxes tobacco.
The nations, led by the Netherlands, have asked the European Commission to propose a new law in the coming months that will bring vaping under the same tax legislation as tobacco.
The initiative has the support of Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Slovakia, Spain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Ireland, Slovenia and Portugal.
EU smokers pay far more in tax than for cigarettes
When it comes to tobacco, the EU sets harmonised minimum rates of tax. For cigarettes, the minimum excise rate is €1.80 per pack of 20, and the minimum total excise duty must be at least 60 per cent of the national weighted average retail price.
This means that smokers in the EU pay far more in excise taxes than they do for the cigarettes themselves. The new law would look to treat vapes, e-liquids and other nicotine alternatives in a similar way.
In a letter to the Commission, the countries’ finance ministers say an overhaul of the 2011 European Union (EU) Tobacco Taxation law is urgently needed. They argue that the lack of common EU vaping rules means each country applies different rules and levels of excise tax, which distorts the bloc's single market.
"Based on the current directive, most of these products cannot be taxed like traditional tobacco products,” the joint letter says.
“The provisions of the current directive are insufficient or too narrow to meet the challenges faced by the administrations of Member States given the ever-evolving offerings of the tobacco industry.”
An ‘uneven playing field’
It adds: "Due to shortcomings in the EU legislation, Member States have taken appropriate actions at the national level. This has led to fragmentation, an uneven playing field and, ultimately, to the distortion of our internal market.”
An update to the EU Tobacco Taxation law was due at the end of 2022 but had been delayed. Governments now want the new Commission, which took office for five years on December 1, to address the changes urgently.
The Commission has so far set some basic regulatory standards for vapes, including limits on nicotine content and compulsory labels explaining that they should not be used by non-smokers. Manufacturers must also register with the government before selling their products.
Tax rules vary widely
However, outside of this, the rules differ hugely from country to country. Poland recently proposed a new law to hike taxes on vapes and e-liquids alongside tobacco, while France has passed a law to raise the tax on e-liquids by a whopping 38 per cent.
There are also vastly differing rules on where vaping is allowed. In France, people under the age of 18 cannot buy vapes and their use is banned in certain public places, including universities and on public transport.
Italy lifted a ban on using vapes in public in 2013, although their use in or near schools is still strictly forbidden. Last month, the country banned online sales of vapes containing nicotine.
Disposable vapes have attracted particular attention from lawmakers in some EU countries amid environmental and health concerns, with France and Spain moving to ban them entirely.
The German Federal Council, the upper house of parliament, has called on the government to push for a similar ban on disposable vapes across the EU.
