{"id":35823,"date":"2026-04-07T10:42:49","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T10:42:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/?p=35823"},"modified":"2026-04-07T10:42:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T10:42:55","slug":"eu-tax-plan-could-target-vapes-to-fund-cancer-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/post\/eu-tax-plan-could-target-vapes-to-fund-cancer-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"EU tax plan could target vapes to fund cancer strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A new proposal in the European Parliament could see vapes taxed across the EU to help fund future cancer programmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a report<\/a> by Romanian MEP Vlad Voiculescu, the bloc should raise \u20ac2 billion through new levies on nicotine products and ultra-processed foods to support its flagship cancer plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Push for new taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Voiculescu said: \u201cThe 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.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea is to create a more stable funding stream for the EU\u2019s long-term cancer strategy, known as the European Beating Cancer Plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Questions over effectiveness and funding<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

However, the report raises concerns about how progress is being measured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Voiculescu wrote that the EU\u2019s claimed \u201c90 per cent implementation figure\u201d does not necessarily show whether policies have actually \u201cimproved survival or reached patients.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Political resistance likely<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The proposal is likely to face opposition. Some MEPs, particularly from the centre-right European People\u2019s Party, have already pushed back against stricter measures on tobacco and alcohol, and could resist new EU-wide taxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wider policy shift<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It proposes a more flexible, \u201ctiered\u201d system that takes account of differences between countries\u2019 healthcare systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA country like Romania would not be held to the same absolute targets as the Netherlands,\u201d Voiculescu said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What happens next<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

MEPs are expected to debate the report and propose amendments in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 \u20ac2 billion through new levies on nicotine products and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":990005,"featured_media":35824,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[257],"tags":[340,186],"slider":[],"class_list":["post-35823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-netherlands","tag-nicotine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/990005"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35823"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35831,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35823\/revisions\/35831"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35823"},{"taxonomy":"slider","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/slider?post=35823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}