Germany Approves Bill to Raise Taxes on E-Cigarettes and Tobacco

The German government proposed a new tax on tobacco and nicotine alternative products in April last year. The draft measure was first released by Germany’s Ministry of Finance in February. The amendment will take effect on July 1, 2022, marking the first update to tobacco tax in ten years.

Unfortunately, the measure approved last week will result in safer alternatives being taxed in the same way as conventional tobacco products. From 2022 through 2023, nicotine-containing products will be taxed at €0.02 per milligram of nicotine alkaloids, rising to €0.04 per milligram in 2024. After that, both products will see a further increase of 15 cents per pack in 2025 and 2026.

The amendment means that a 10 ml bottle of e-liquid, currently priced at around €5, will cost an additional €1.60 in 2022 and €3.20 more by 2026. The Electronic Cigarette Trade Association (VdeH) warned that raising the price of safer alternatives could push many e-cigarette users back to smoking.

E-cigarette consumers express concerns about the tax

Last month, the World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA) organized a Covid-friendly demonstration, giving German and European e-cigarette users a chance to voice their concerns and opinions. “These laws pose a major threat to the more than 2 million e-cigarette users in Germany who have already quit smoking,” WVA said in a press release.

“Vaping has already saved millions of lives. However, policymakers and tobacco control advocates refuse to see reality and would rather put their ideology ahead of saving lives. These proposed new laws will be a major setback for e-cigarette users and smokers who want to quit. That is why our members felt it was necessary to take action and bring the Vape Army to the streets of Berlin in this Covid-friendly demonstration,” the organization added.