Taxes had ‘No Impact’ on Singapore’s Vape Ban

The Singapore government said that the potential loss in revenue from tobacco tax was not a factor in its decision to ban the use of e-cigarettes in 2018.

In his reply to a question by a Workers’ Party and Sengkang member of Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, who is also the Minister for Finance, said, “The Government’s decision to ban the use of e-cigarettes in 2018 was based on public health considerations, to protect our population from the harms of these products. The potential loss in tobacco tax revenue from the reduced consumption of tobacco products was not a factor in this decision.”

… our priority is to protect the health of our population and prevent e-cigarettes from causing harm to our people, especially to younger Singaporeans.”

 

Lawrence Wong

Wong added that if the government were to legalize and tax e-cigarettes “the challenges would be similar to those we encounter for cigarettes and other tobacco products today,” according to a Yahoo news report.

“In any case, the government has no plans to change our current approach, as our priority is to protect the health of our population and prevent e-cigarettes from causing harm to our people, especially to younger Singaporeans,” he said.