GASTEIN, Austria — European Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi said the EU will eventually hike taxes on vapes to match “classic tobacco products” as Europe was already seeing the public health impact of vaping.
Várhelyi said the European Commission’s proposed tax hikes on cigarettes and vapes, presented in July, were a “strong signal” of EU policy’s direction of travel. The Commission proposed to raise tobacco taxes across the board and set minimum taxes on vapes and nicotine pouches for the first time.
The proposed tax levels vary by product but are higher for cigarettes and tobacco than e-cigarettes. The new tax on cigarettes would be at least 63 percent of the average retail price, while for vapes it will range from 20 to 40 percent.
“We will raise the excess duties on these new products to the exact same level as it is for classic tobacco products and we will need to continue in that direction,” the commissioner said during a panel at the European Health Forum Gastein in Austria.
“For whatever reason, in the public [vaping] is not presented as a danger — yet,” Várhelyi said.
But he said Europe was already witnessing the public health impact. In the Czech Republic, more than 25 percent of young people vape. “The health impact is already there,” he said, pointing out this number was higher than the average rate of EU adults who smoke. In 2019, 18.4 percent of people in the EU aged 15 and over smoked daily.
Várhelyi didn’t give a timeline for when taxes on new products would rise to match cigarettes. “Of course, it’s very important to have confirmation from the lung experts that we’re doing the right thing,” he added.
Várhelyi was speaking at a panel on heart health where he heard pitches from experts on how to maximize the impact of the planned cardiovascular health plan, expected by the end of the year.