Ireland’s government has cynically “rammed through” a move to impose heavy taxes on vape e-liquids without consultation, tobacco harm reduction advocates say. Higher prices for vapes will disincentivize switching from cigarettes.
The Irish government notified the European Union of its proposed E-Liquids Product Tax on October 14. Advocates point out that after such notifications of draft legislation, there’s generally a three-month “standstill period” under the EU’s Technical Regulation Information System (TRIS). This allows for EU member states, organizations and the public to comment on what’s being proposed.
Yet the TRIS displays the “End of Standstill” for this measure as October 15—just one day after the notification.
“To say it was a cynical move by the Irish government is a massive understatement.”
“This meant that no one had an opportunity to scrutinize, comment or object to what was proposed in the draft,” Damian Sweeney, a trustee for New Nicotine Alliance Ireland (NNA Ireland) and a partner with European Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (ETHRA), told Filter.
The unusual speed with which this was “rammed through” was justified by the Irish government’s application of a TRIS urgency procedure, he explained.
This procedure is designed for “serious and unforeseeable circumstances relating to the protection of public health or safety,” according to the EU. It was used during the COVID-19 pandemic, for example. It has never before been used for legislation around vapes.
“To say it was a cynical move by the Irish government is a massive understatement,” Sweeney said.
The planned tax, at €0.50 per milliliter, will apply to e-liquids whether or not they contain nicotine. It’s set to be implemented in 2025. Once that happens, Ireland will tax vaping products more heavily than any other EU country.
It essentially amounts, Sweeney said, to “a tax on quitting smoking.”
According to NNA Ireland, a 10 ml bottle of e-liquid that currently sells for €4.99 will more than double in price. The hike on other e-liquid options will be even greater, and vapes will effectively be taxed more heavily than the cigarettes they frequently replace.
Sweeney called this “eye-watering” and “excessive in the extreme.” It essentially amounts, he said, to “a tax on quitting smoking.”
“Part of the rationale for the tax is to discourage youth use, but I cannot see how it will possibly achieve that goal,” he continued. “The government has stated that most young people who vape are using single-use vapes, and those are the products which will have the least amount of tax added, around €1.23.”
The widespread fear is that much higher vape prices will deter smoking cessation. Adults who have made the switch have called the tax plan “outrageous.”
The Irish government’s deployment of the TRIS urgency procedure chimes with another recent example of its dodging the implications of public comment on tobacco harm reduction.
The Irish government’s public consultation showed only 10 percent of participants wanted vapes to be taxed more heavily than in other EU countries.
In September, the government announced sweeping plans to ban disposable vapes and severely restrict vape flavors, among other measures. It did this despite some key findings of its own previous public consultation on vaping; a substantial majority of participants opposed flavor restrictions, for example.
That public consultation also showed that only 10 percent of participants wanted vapes to be taxed more heavily than in other EU countries.
“The only winner in this will be the black market,” Sweeney said.
Ireland reportedly already has a flourishing illicit market for many items, including vapes. Avoiding heavy taxes presents a clear incentive for more unregulated vape sales, including to underage purchasers.
“We strongly warn the government that this will lead to a rise in the consumption of the most harmful products, combustible cigarettes,” NNA Ireland said. “The consequent detrimental burden on society due to this ill conceived move will rest on their shoulders.”
Photograph via City of Glendale, California
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