Taxing vaping would be like extending the sugar tax to sugar-free squash | City A.M.
As a non-smoker and a non-vaper, many people might wonder what my interest is in vaping.
The answer is simple. I know from personal experience how beneficial vaping is for smokers who want to quit.
My husband, a lifelong smoker, switched from smoking to vaping two years ago, mainly for his health. He hasn’t had a cigarette since. I have also heard many stories in my surgery about how constituents have successfully managed to quit their smoking habits for good through vaping.
Read more: Vapers could be hit with a new sin tax
Clearly this is an effective way to improve our nation’s health. That’s why I decided, together with my parliamentary colleagues, to join the all-party parliamentary group for e-cigarettes, to further investigate how vaping could complement the government’s smoking cessation strategy.
To date, the UK has been leading the way in the battle against smoking-related illnesses through public health policies which support people wishing to quit with the help of vaping. Vaping products are a uniquely interesting innovation, as their uptake has been entirely consumer-led.
They have already helped millions of people reduce or stop smoking and, at zero cost to the NHS, have saved the health service vast amounts of money.
Consensus on this among our country’s health professionals is fairly widespread. Public health experts agree on the benefits of vaping as a tool to help smokers transition away from tobacco.
One of the government’s own agencies, Public Health England, has issued an evidence-based report which states that e-cigarettes are likely to be 95 per cent less harmful than smoking.
This is a message we are eager to spread. Recently, some of my colleagues gave evidence to MPs in Australia (where vaping is banned), and it was great to see that the UK’s success in encouraging vaping is being recognised around the world.
It should be a source of national pride that we in Britain listen to our doctors – and to the evidence – when developing public health policy.
I was therefore very surprised to hear worrying rumours from Whitehall that the government might be considering imposing a tax on vaping. This would be in stark contradiction to the government’s own messaging to date, and would risk undoing all the great work that has been done to date to encourage smoking cessation.
As policymakers, we often use the taxation system to nudge the public towards living healthier lifestyles, hence the so-called “sin taxes” on cigarettes, alcohol, and sugar.
Whether or not you agree with the principle of the government engaging in behavioural economics, a “vape tax” would have a regressive impact on public health. It makes no sense to try to encourage people to switch to vaping on the one hand, while applying further tax on it on the other.
Frankly, it would be akin to extending the “sugar tax” to sugar-free squash.
The proposed vaping tax news comes at the same time as international pressures are mounting on the industry.
The EU is consulting once again on whether to place an excise duty on vaping; the World Health Organisation is encouraging countries to ban vaping as part of anti-smoking strategies; and the World Customs Organisation is considering whether vaping should be reclassified to pave the way for international customs duties.
The joint impact of these policies, should they come into effect, would deliver a crippling triple whammy blow to vapers.
Put simply, they would lead to higher prices, and therefore fewer smokers switching.
Research shows that one of the principal reasons people switch to vaping from smoking is that it is substantially cheaper. My husband was amazed at how much money he saved by switching to vaping.
Without this financial incentive, smokers will be far less likely to change to e-cigarettes, and far more likely to stay with what they know.
It also sends the wrong message: that one branch of the government is out to punish people for taking the very action another branch is trying to encourage.
Smoking severely damages your health and puts huge pressures on the NHS. That is why it is so important that we continue to pursue effective harm-reduction policies. A vape tax would fly in the face of that goal.
As a nation, we now have an opportunity to lead the world on public health. If the research shows that vaping can make a positive contribution – and it does – then it is vitally important that we keep the cost of vaping well below that of cigarettes.
There are almost seven million smokers in the UK. If the government is to help them quit, vaping must play a key part of the solution.
Read more: Inconsistent regulators risk stifling our thriving vaping industry