Riding For Vapes
President of ANAFE is completing a 700km cycling tour of Italy to promote vaping and raise the alarm about vaping supply chain risks from national law and TED directive
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by Dave Cross
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ANAFE is the national association of electronic vape producers belonging to Confindustria. Founded in 2012, it brings together the main manufacturers of electronic cigarettes and e-liquids that represent most of the Italian market. The association is registered in the Transparency Register of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development.
ANAFE-Confindustria has always supported the importance of an organic and sustainable reform of the e-cig sector, which guarantees stability and perspective to companies and workers active in the Italian market. The association is active at Italian and European Union institutions in order to represent, promote and protect the interests of its members.
The President, Umberto Roccatti is back in the saddle for the second edition of “Ride4Vape” bike tour. This initiative, created to raise public awareness - through a symbolic journey - on the damages caused by traditional cigarettes, will focus its 2021 edition on the fiscal issue and, more particularly, on the unsustainability and unreasonableness of the maxi-tax provided for by the last budget law regarding e-cigs in Italy and many other countries, and the tax that the Tobacco Excise Directive could introduce into EU markets.
In Italy, this new tax has been temporarily suspended by the Draghi-led government from August 1st until December 31st, 2021, but new and further increases will come into effect from January 1st, 2022, unless a regulatory change is put in place.
"The gradual increase, every year for three years, of the taxation on electronic cigarettes”, explains Roccatti, “is pure absurdity, that risks bringing to its knees a sector already severely affected by the pandemic and which, today, counts about 45,000 employees including both direct and indirect sector.
“Although the new tax regime has been suspended until December 31st, 2021, the new increase will come into effect from next year. This is a crazy rule, that will not only seriously weigh on a supply chain made up of small and medium-sized enterprises, but will encourage the proliferation of a black market and the return to traditional cigarettes.”
He added that the tax would render tobacco products like cigarettes cheaper than osme vapes.
With the support of LIAF (Italian Anti-Smoking League), IEVA (Independent European Vape Alliance), and Sigmagazine, the 2021 edition of “Ride4Vape” will start from Bolzano on Monday, September 20th. Before landing in the capital, Roccatti will stop in Abano Terme (PD), Santarcangelo di Romagna (RN) and Sangemini (TR).
“Along the way and live from Facebook, our President will explain us in detail the disastrous effects of the fiscal policy defined on e-cigs and will launch an appeal to the institutions to stop the maxi-tax,” ANAFE says.
"What the whole sector hopes for, is a revision of the current tax burden which turns out to be particularly excessive,” concludes Roccatti. “Moreover, it should be noted that the revenue, referred to the first months when the tax came into force before it was suspended by the new government, was not what expected, thus confirming the fact that raising taxes, especially during a pandemic, does not contribute positively to state revenues.
“We therefore ask for stability and fiscal balance on a sector which already underwent four tax increases in the last 6 years, always occurring in a schizophrenic way, overnight and without any planning. "
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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