UKVIA Concerned For Ex-Smokers
Following the Government’s announcement in the Budget that eliquids will be taxed at £2.20 per 10ml bottle, the UK Vaping Industry Association expresses its concerns for ex-smokers
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by Dave Cross
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Following Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announcing in the Budget that the Government’s plans to tax eliquid at £2.20 for every 10ml contained within a bottle, regardless of whether it contains nicotine or not, the UK Vaping Industry Association has expressed its concerns for ex-smokers. The trade body says the Government is penalising former smokers with a “revenue grab” for making sensible choices and being less of a burden on the health service.
John Dunne, Director General of the UK Vaping Industry Association, commented on the Vaping Products Duty that will be introduced from 2026: “Whilst a flat rate tax versus one graded on different nicotine strengths is favoured so as not to deter smokers who rely on higher concentrations of nicotine when they start transitioning over to vapes, the additional cost of £2.20 (plus VAT) per 10mls of eliquid is a kick in the teeth for former adult smokers who have switched to vaping to quit their habits. It will also be the highest rate in Europe.
“Some 3m adults are former smokers thanks to vaping, which is strongly evidenced as the most effective way to quit conventional cigarettes, saving the NHS millions of pounds in treating patients with smoking related conditions. This announcement today deters adult smokers from considering vapes as a method to give up their habits, and hits the lowest paid who go for more price sensitive e-liquid options, which currently start at 99p and will rise to £3.83, representing a shocking rise of 267%.”
As Planet of the Vapes revealed on Friday, a Joe's Juice 200ml bottle of nicotine-free Passion Fruit Guava & Kiwi currently costs £14.99 on the Vape Club website – this will rise by £44.00 to £58.99. The cheapest nicshot (£1) will rise to £3.20; the final price of the shortfill plus shots will come to £71.79 – a tax hike of 378%.
Dunne continued: “For a Government that places a great focus on the NHS, it is a nonsensical move to put a severe punitive tax level on vaping when the category has done so much to reduce the number of adult smokers requiring medical attention by being a driving force in the decline of smoking rates to record low levels in recent years.
“Today’s announcement is effectively a revenue grab from former smokers and penalising them for making considerably less harmful choices. It would also make more sense for vapes to be taxed at a lower VAT rate, which is the case for other Nicotine Replacement Therapies, which have proven to be considerably less successful than vapes in helping smokers quit.
“We will be responding to the Vaping Products Duty Consultation that sets out the proposals for how the duty will be designed and implemented.”
Following the UK Vaping Industry Association’s comments, it took to social media to state: “Ministers warned by a government report that their attack on vaping in the UK could send over 1.5 million people back to smoking. This was before the chancellor doubled down by punishing those who had already made healthier choices by ditching tobacco. So much for a smoke-free 2030.”
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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