EU Urged to Embrace Risk-Based Taxation

The EU should embrace a risk-proportionate tax system for tobacco-related products, according to the Independent European Vape Alliance (IEVA).

“Revising the current Tobacco Excise Directive presents an opportunity to apply the right incentives for current smokers to improve their health, ideally by stopping the use of nicotine altogether but also by switching to reduced-risk alternatives where this is impossible or unlikely for the individual smoker,” the IEVA wrote in its response to the EU excise duties roadmap.

“Vaping has been found to be significantly less carcinogenic than smoking and an acceptable replacement for cigarettes for many smokers. It follows that any policy designed to reduce cancer rates through prevention must focus on the needs of this particularly at-risk section of the population.”

The consultation period for the revision of excise duties is scheduled for the first quarter of 2021, and commission adoption is scheduled for the fourth quarter of the year.

The feedback period to the roadmap closed on Jan. 5.