Advocating For Tobacco Harm Reduction

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THR X (Twitter) Community Notes

A great way for the informed consumer to share information and to call out the issues with tweets seen regularly. Hints, tips, and links for information, such as how to join on Twitter, etc. can be found on the THR X Community notes information and how to page

Region: England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, UK

UK Vape TAX - Make sure to respond by the 29th May 2024

LONDON, March 6, 2024: The Chancellor has today approved a tax on vaping liquids which is ill-thought-out and will cost thousands of lives.

• The tax on vaping liquids is damaging in principle and in practice.
• The UK government will undo its former position as a world-leader in reducing the prevalence of smoking.
• Government is now fighting itself by taxing the very products it is urging smokers to try.
• The government is clearly regulating from a position of ignorance and must urgently consult with consumer and public health experts.

The New Nicotine Alliance (NNA) is exasperated that the government is systematically dismantling world-leading policy which was an example to the rest of the world on how to utilise innovative harm reduction approaches to rapidly reduce the toll of smoking-related disease.

Following the ill-judged decision to ignore public health experts who warned of a ban on single-use vapes deterring people who smoke from switching to products that could save their lives, it has now undermined its own admirable Swap to Stop campaign by vowing to increase the tax on the very products it is urging smokers to try. Furthermore, the design of the tax shows that government ministers have no understanding of how the devices help to reduce smoking prevalence.

The government is now fighting itself. It has been recently reported that 400,000 vaping products—the first of one million promised by the government last year—will be handed out free of charge under the Swap to Stop campaign, while the Chancellor is taxing them on the pretext that they are harmful.

NNA Chair Louise Ross, an expert on smoking cessation for nearly two decades, comments, “Putting a higher tax on stronger e-liquids completely misses the point that the more heavily dependent smokers will need stronger liquid to stay smoke-free. This will include people with poor mental health, people on benefits, people living in disadvantaged communities and those with challenging lives. Higher taxes will keep them smoking.

— New Nicotine Alliance, News email, https://mailchi.mp/nnalliance/media-release-a-tax-on-vaping-liquids

For information on how to respond please follow the advice of your local advocacy organisation, or the NNA email above.

• Please see this news item for information on how to respond: Tobacco Harm Reduction News: UK Vaping tax and how to respond
• You can learn more about taxing vapor products here.

Region: North America

United States

The Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association (CASAA) issues calls to action at the federal, state, and local levels.