E-cigarettes will be hit by tough new taxes under Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s new budget, which could see the price of the most potent e-liquid rise by as much as £3.
Proposals will see nicotine-free vaping liquid hit with a £1 per 10ml tax, according to proposals seen by the Financial times.
Liquids with a nicotine content lower than that of a cigarette, typically 10-12mg, will be hit with a fee of £2 per 10ml.
Those stronger than a cigarette will have to pay a tax of £3 per 10ml.
At 10ml, the maximum legal size of that e-liquid that can be sold, the most powerful vaporizers could rise in price by up to £3.
Critics described the proposals as “scientifically and economically illiterate.”
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the new taxes, which vary according to nicotine content, as part of today’s budget.
Hunt’s vaping tax will not come into effect immediately and the tax is only expected to be introduced in 2026 following consultation.
This would leave the application of the measure after the next elections and, therefore, under the jurisdiction of the next Government.
Reacting to the announcement, Christopher Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics at the free-market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs called it a “deeply cynical cash grab.”
‘Forget taxes on sin, this is a tax on saints. Vapers did what the government wanted and stopped smoking. “Now they are being punished for it,” he said.
‘This is a scientific and economic illiterate. Combined with the ban on disposable vaporizers, it seems the government is intent on keeping people smoking.
‘The tax will not only close the price gap between vaporizers and cigarettes, but will send a message to the public that the health risks are similar.
‘With most people in Britain already wrongly believing that vaping is at least as dangerous as smoking, the Government’s reckless greed will cost lives.
“As a former Health Minister, Mr Hunt should be ashamed.”
Snowden was referring to a recent study that showed that 60 percent of smokers think vapes are more harmful than cigarettes.
Although Hunt also raised the price of cigarettes, ensuring vaping is no more expensive than smoking, some now fear it will lead to fewer Britons making the switch.
Traditional smoking, which involves burning tobacco, has long been shown to cause a number of health problems.
These include breathing problems, as well as an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes and developing multiple cancers.
While the evidence on the long-term health impacts of vaping is still unclear, nearly all experts agree that it is safer than traditional smoking.
E-cigarettes allow people to inhale nicotine in vapor form, which is produced by heating a liquid.
Unlike traditional cigarettes, they do not contain tobacco nor do they produce tar or carbon, two of the most dangerous elements.
While it is considered safer than smoking, the long-term effects of vaping remain a mystery.
Doctors have expressed fears that there could be a wave of lung disease, dental problems and even cancer in the coming decades in people who adopted the habit at a young age.
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Many former smokers use vaporizers as a smoking cessation tool, as they can get their nicotine fix without the health impacts of traditional smoking.
Every year, around 76,000 people in the UK die from smoking-related diseases.
The Government itself estimates that smoking costs the economy £17 billion a year due to lost productivity and knock-on effects for the NHS.
Health experts have welcomed further anti-vaping measures, designed to curb the rise of the habit in children, proposed by the Government to reduce vaping in children.
These include a ban on disposable vaporizers, the weapon of choice for teenagers.
E-cigarettes will also be limited to a handful of flavours, sold in plain tobacco-style packaging and displayed out of sight of children under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s ambitious plans.
One in 10 Estonians now vape regularly each month, cementing its position as the e-cigarette capital of the world, new data revealed this week. Published by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a forum of 37 countries with market-based economies founded in 1961, also found that only four countries rank higher than the UK.
It will mean the end of gum “clouds” and predatory packaging designed to make vaporizers look like highlighter pens.
New “on-the-spot” fines will be imposed on stores that illegally sell vaporizers to children.
Shocking statistics show that a quarter of today’s children have attempted to inhale the nicotine-laden devices littering stores across the country.
Worse, a tenth are now regular users, raising fears of a future health crisis given the mystery surrounding the long-term safety of e-cigarettes.