Taxing safer nicotine products at rates comparable to cigarettes could have devastating consequences for public health, a leading health agency has warned.
The Global State of Tobacco Harm Reduction (GSTHR) is urging governments to use taxes to ensure cigarettes are significantly more expensive than safer alternatives like vapes and heated tobacco products.
A new briefing paper, titled “Safer nicotine product taxation and optimal strategies for public health”, warns that calls from the World Health Organisation to put higher taxes on safer alternatives could put smokers off from switching.
Current recommendations are “counterproductive”
It says: “Current recommendations by traditional tobacco control groups to increase excise tax rates on SNP (safer nicotine products) in general are counterproductive.
“Such measures risk undermining public health goals by slowing the transition from smoking to safer alternatives, failing to support quitting, and potentially pushing people who used to smoke back to combustible cigarettes.”
The paper says that by 2023, excise taxes had been added to vapes in at least 54 countries and 33 U.S. jurisdictions. In addition, 66 countries had brought in excise taxes for heated tobacco products.
It says: “.. more and more countries are implementing or planning to introduce excise duties on these products. For example, starting in January 2024, Belgium introduced an excise tax of €0.15 per ml on e-liquids.
“Spain followed in January 2025 by introducing a tax of €0.20 per ml for e-liquids containing more than 15 mg of nicotine and €0.15 per ml for those with 15 mg or less, including nicotine-free liquids. Similarly, both Ireland and the United Kingdom have announced plans to impose taxes on vaping products starting in 2025 and 2026, respectively.”
Written by GSTHR Economist Giorgi Mzhavanadze, the paper acknowledges that taxation has long been one of the most effective tools for controlling smoking. Increasing prices decreases demand by making tobacco products less affordable. These taxes also generate government revenue.
Higher taxes on cigarettes have played a role in the falling smoking rates seen in many countries, in part by encouraging those who smoke to transition to less harmful products like vaping.
Avoiding unintended consequences
But the paper warns that taxation of safer nicotine products must be carefully aligned with objectives for cutting smoking rates to avoid “unintended consequences.”
It says this is a particular issue in low and middle income countries where safer alternatives are less affordable than cigarettes.
“This affordability gap contributes to the slow adoption of SNP, as cigarettes and SNP are economic substitutes, making relative prices an important factor in consumer decisions,” it says.
The paper adds: “Governments need to use taxation to ensure that cigarettes are significantly more expensive than SNP, while maintaining low tax rates on SNP to enhance their affordability. This strategy would encourage those who smoke to switch to safer alternatives and reduce smoking prevalence.”
It concludes that governments must be careful not to prioritise financial gain from taxes over long-term public health. It says: “While these strategies may face resistance due to fiscal concerns – especially in countries where cigarette taxes represent a significant revenue source – governments must prioritise harm reduction.”
