Electronic cigarettes soon to be taxed?

In just a few years, electronic cigarettes have gained popularity. But at a time when the State is looking to save money, the idea of ​​a tax is being debated.

Electronic cigarettes: a new amendment tabled

MP Charles de Courson tabled an amendment related to electronic cigarettes, aiming to implement, from March 1, 2025, an increase of 15 euro cents per milliliter of liquid. For 10 ml, that’s €1.50 extra. Refill bottles and puffs (single-use electronic cigarettes) are affected. This “European tax harmonization measure” could bring in between 150 and 200 million euros for the State.

An “anti-public health” measure?

Questioned on France Inter, Marion Adler (tobacco doctor) declared that, for her, this is an “anti-public health” idea. While around four million French people vape regularly, she questions the benefit of a tax on “the first aid in quitting smoking”. A point of view shared by Bernard Basset, president of the Addictions France Association, for whom it is a rather effective way for certain people to stop smoking. “We should not penalize vaping if we have public health objectives,” he believes. Bertrand Dautzenberg, tobacco specialist at the Arthur Vernes Institute in Paris, fears that the increase in the price of electronic cigarettes will dissuade the French from quitting smoking. For other tobacco doctors, the risk is that consumers will vape themselves in problematic health conditions. Fivape (Interprofessional Federation of Vaping) for its part pointed out the risks linked to jobs, estimating that there could ultimately be 5,000 job cuts in the vaping sector. In addition, an increase in the price of electronic cigarettes could lead consumers to return to smoking traditional cigarettes. For information, according to the European Commission’s Eurobarometer 2024: 7% of French people use a vaping product; 17% of French people have tried or stopped smoking using an electronic cigarette or similar device (compared to 14% with patches/chewing gum and 5% with medical support/a special help service). As for conventional tobacco, only a “contained” increase indexed to inflation is on the program for 2025, as indicated by Laurent Saint-Martin, Minister of Budget and Public Accounts.

Vaping and health: what do we know?

According to several studies, few in number due to various methodological obstacles, vaping is less harmful to health than smoking conventional cigarettes. However, heavy metals (lead, copper, nickel, etc.) are present in recharging liquids. However, they are dangerous for health. Likewise, the vapor contains (at around 60°C) chemical substances similar to those emitted by the combustion of conventional cigarettes (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, toluene, etc.). However, there is less of it than in the smoke of the latter. The risk of cancer is lower than with conventional cigarettes but it does exist. Finally, other impacts of vaping on health have been noted: pulmonary problems, oral infections, etc.