A new tax on vapes is due to come into effect in the UK from October 2026.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the levy on the smoking alternatives in his Spring budget. The move is set to bring in £445 million in revenue for the government per year.
The proposed tax is currently under a 12-week consultation period. If you are a vape user, or supporter of them as an important tool to help smokers quit, this is your chance to make your views known.
The closing date for responses to the consultation is May 29, 2024.
What will the tax cost you?
Under current rules, vapes are subject to 20 per cent VAT but not a specific tax like normal cigarettes are.
The new tax would see e-liquids with more nicotine content taxed more highly:
- £1 per 10ml for nicotine free e-liquids
- £2 per 10ml for e-liquids containing nicotine at concentrations between 0.1 to 10.9mg per ml
- £3 per 10ml for e-liquids containing nicotine at concentrations 11mg per ml, or above
How to respond
Download the Vaping Products Duty Consultation response form here. You can choose to send your comments via a template or written form.
The guidance states that “You are not limited to only answering the questions asked and we will also consider written submissions provided to the consultation.”
There are 59 questions which you can view on page 40 of the consultation document here. You do not have to answer all of the questions.
Many of the questions are directed at businesses. Below are those that as a consumer you should definitely consider answering:
Question 6: Do you agree that the rates and structure will encourage manufacturers to reduce the nicotine content of their products?
Question 7: What do you think the likely impact the rate structure will have on consumers’ vaping behaviour?
Question 8: Should production of vaping products by individuals for their own use be within scope of the duty?
Question 58: Do you believe the introduction of the new duty would lead to consumers switching to alternative nicotine containing products?
Question 59: Unless already covered in your responses to other questions within this document, is there anything else you would like us to note about the impact of the duty?
Some key points to make:
The tax undermines the governments’ Swap to Stop campaign
The tax goes against the Swap to Stop campaign, which encourages smokers to quit by handing out one million free vapes. The tax will put off those who take up the offer by applying heavy duties to the liquids they need to use them.
It misunderstands science
The tax penalises vape users according to nicotine usage. However, it is irrelevant how much nicotine a vape contains compared with nicotine in a cigarette. Nicotine is not the element that causes the death and disease, it is the combustion. As Action on Smoking and Health explains, “puffs on vapes ARE NOT equivalent to puffs on cigarettes.”
It punishes quitting more harshly than continuing to smoke
The proposed tax on vaping liquid is at least six times harsher than for cigarettes.
Users of stronger liquids (≥11mg/ml) will face a 143 per cent price increase. Weaker liquids (<11mg/ml) will go up by 98 per cent, and nicotine-free liquids by 48 per cent.
The increase in combustible tobacco duty, by comparison, is around 2.5 per cent.
As a result of the budget, a 20 per day smoker will take 21 days to pay the extra duty that a standard vaper using 20mg/ml liquid will pay in seven days.
The smokefree 2030 goal will be unattainable
The tax will be a significant deterrent to smokers who are considering switching to vaping. It will also lead to an increase in sales of illicit products, and relapse by many back to smoking cigarettes. The move will put the government’s Smokefree 2030 target out of reach.
Encourages higher frequency vaping
The consultation document claims that one purpose of the tax is to “encourage consumers to choose lower strength or nicotine-free vaping products over higher strength ones due to the harms from nicotine addiction.”
However, people using lower strengths use higher volumes to take in the nicotine they want. Higher volumes mean more energy and potentially more exposure to contaminants and thermal decomposition products.
It will cost lives
Stronger liquids tend to be those used by people starting to vape who will now be punished at the highest level. Higher strength liquids are also often used long-term by people with poor mental health to stay off cigarettes.
How to submit your response
Email your response to vapingproductsduty@hmrc.gov.uk
Make your case clearly and firmly but please remember to be polite and respectful.
You can visit the campaign site https://novapetax.uk/ for more.
