Germany Approves Bill to Raise Taxes on Vaping Products and Tobacco

Last April, the German government proposed a new tax on tobacco and nicotine alternative products. The draft measure was first published 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 much the same way as conventional tobacco products. From 2022 to 2023, products containing nicotine will be taxed at €0.02 per milligram of nicotine alkaloid, rising to €0.04 per milligram in 2024. After that, both product categories 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 German vaping trade association (VdeH) warned that raising the price of safer alternatives could push many e-cigarette users back to smoking.

Vaping consumers voice concerns about the tax

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

“Vaping has already saved millions of lives. However, policymakers and tobacco control advocates refuse to see reality and prefer to put their ideology ahead of saving lives. These proposed new laws will be a major setback for vapers and for 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.