Slovenia to deter switch to vapor

The Slovenian government seems keen to prevent smokers switching to electronic cigarettes; at least that is the case if the decision to switch is made on the basis of lower excise duties, according to a Slovenian Press Agency story.

The government adopted a revenue-neutral excise-duty bill on April 20 that, among other things, seeks to introduce duties on electronic cigarettes.

The Finance Ministry’s State Secretary Mateja Vraničar Erman told the press that the focus of the bill was on removing administrative barriers.

But it proposed also the levying of duty on electronic cigarettes as part of measures announced by the state to regulate electronic cigarettes through new tobacco legislation.

“This is above all about preventing users from switching from conventional cigarettes to e-cigarettes because of lower duties on such products, and about the wish to clearly regulate them duty-wise,” Vraničar Erman was quoted as saying.