In response to reports of Government’s proposed ‘sin tax’ on vaping, the UKVIA made the front page of City A.M. and appeared in The Express and The Sun, as well as the Talking Retail, Tobacco Reporter, VAPE News and vaping.com.
The Express: Tories plan to hit 2.9million with VAPE TAX to raise extra £40million for NHS
Whitehall sources say so-called ‘sin-taxes’, which are set to hit the UK’s 2.9million vapers in their pockets, will produce increases of £40million in this year’s autumn budget for the NHS.
The taxes are part of an initiative by the Treasury to find ways of fun
ding the extra £20billion pledged to the NHS.
They would introduce the punitive measure to a recreational activity which claims to help people stop smoking.
Last night Chris Snowdon, of think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, said a vaping tax would harm the UK’s health.
He said: “The UK’s liberal approach to vaping has become a model for the rest of the world.”
Supporters of vaping say it cuts cigarette consumption and therefore has a positive impact on public health.
Roughly half of regular users claimed they used e-cigarettes to curb their smoking habit.
Thirteen organisations, including Public Health England and Cancer R
esearch UK, released a joint statement in 2015 on vaping, reporting that it was at least 95 percent less harmful to health than cigarettes.
Users of vaping and e-cigarette devices typically spend £275 a year of vaping fluid – a five percent tax would cost them £13.75 annually and raise almost £40million.
The Sun: Vape Tax Illogical: Taxing e-cigarettes makes ‘no sense’ as they help people quit smoking, experts warn
TAXING vapers makes “no sense” experts said yesterday – after it emerged Treasury bean-counters were drawing up plans to slap a tax on e-cigs to pay for the NHS’s £20billion birthday bounty.
Whitehall sources are looking at so called “sin taxes” to raise cash for the health service’s spending bonanza.
And e-cigarettes are not currently taxed – because of their benefits in helping people quit fags.
But Chris Snowdon of the Institute of Economic Affairs think tanks c
ompared it to “taxing bicycles to pay for the costs of obesity”.
Users typically go through one 10ml bottle a week costing around £5 which amounts to an annual bill of £275.
Slapping a tax of around 5 per cent to this would cost vapers an extra £13.75 a year.
There are estimated to be 2.9million vapers in Britain so a five per cent hike would bring almost £40million more into Treasury coffers.
But Dan Marchant, a board member of the UK Vaping Industry Association hit out at the plan branding it “hypocritical”.
rs looking to quit as nicotine replacement therapies such as patches, gum or inhalers – all funded by the NHS and which all receive a tax break unlike vaping products which are subject to VAT at the full rate.
He added: “Vaping is a huge public health opportunity which has already helped three million smokers quit or reduce smoking and saved the NHS billions of pounds according to the Government’s own research.
“For the Treasury to impose yet another tax on vaping, not only wouldn’t make sense, but it would be detrimental to the NHS and public health in the UK”.
It comes as the EU also threatens to place an excise duty on vaping.
Mr Marchant said the UKVIA had sent a letter to the Treasury to highlight their concerns.
A Treasury spokesperson said they did not comment on tax policy.