The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is expected to announce a new tax on vaping products and tobacco, in a move that could raise around £500million a year by 2028/29 in today’s spring Budget.
The new “vaping products levy” is expected to be charged on manufacturers and importers of the liquid in vapes, which are currently only subjected to VAT. It’ll be like tobacco products.
The measures would essentially make both vapes and cigarettes more expensive to buy.
Looking ahead to today’s announcement, vape stores and manufacturers across the country have raised concerns about the move.
The new “vaping products levy” is expected to be charged on manufacturers and importers of the liquid in vapes, which are currently only subjected to VAT
PA
Kevan Pannell, store manager at the JT’s ECig store in Edenbridge, Kent said his company have worked tirelessly for 10 years to get to the stage where they are. He said the key to their success has been keeping prices low for their customers.
“He’s [the Chancellor] putting it into our hands of trying to not put our prices up, but we’re going to have to maintain the gap that is going to be coming into place. We don’t want to because we don’t want to lose our customers, our customers are who made us over ten years.
He added: “It’s a very fine balancing act to have customers walk away and go to bigger corporate businesses that can afford that difference – it’s going hurt us big time.”
Ministers have raised concerns about the low costs of vaping, which has meant the products are relatively accessible for young people and non-smokers.
Recent government data showed that use among younger children is rising, with nine per cent of 11 to 15-year-olds now using vapes.
The government also added that disposable vapes have been using more by young people, with the proportion of 11 to 17-year-old vapers using disposables almost ninefold in the last two years.
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Kevan Pannell, store manager at the JT’s ECig store said the key to their success has been keeping prices low for their customers
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Bedford Academy headteacher, Chris Deller, said that whilst he’s not sure what type of impact the increased VAT will have, any type of deterrent for young children, to try and encourage them to make good choices about any form of vaping, nicotine consumption, is a positive thing.
He said: “We are really clear to the students; we talk about over communicating the message to students about vaping. We have clear systems and structures to help the students make good choices and we do that throughout pastoral care.
“It’s escalated in the last couple of years, we wouldn’t say we have a major problems with it here. But we’ve had incidents where we’ve had to enforce pretty straight sanctions with students on occasions, there have been suspensions which have taken place.
“But I think it’s above over communicating those key messages about dangers associated with it and what type of sanctions we’re going to put in place if they’re found with vapes in school."
Industry experts say they are “appalled” that children are getting access to vapes, but say there is already legislation in place to stop sales to under 18s.
Chief Executive at one of the leading UK Vape stores and manufacturers, Marcus Saxton, said the proposed VAT increase is “a little bit of an incoherent strategy”.
Chief Executive at one of the leading UK Vape stores and manufacturers, Marcus Saxton, said the proposed VAT increase is “a little bit of an incoherent strategy”
GB News
He argued that: “We must drive the accurate and positive perception to the six million smokers that are currently left. What the government has also going through the process of doing is enacting a ban on single use products.
“Despite those helping many smokers access vaping as a substantially safer and simple offer, those have been disproportionately attractive to children.
“Effectively the government has already put in place or proposing legislation that will ban those products.
"It would seem a little bit perverse and incoherent to at the same time effectively increase the cost of vaping, when you’ve still got six million die-hard smokers who you’re trying to give every opportunity to make the transition into vaping.”
The plans proposed in January for a UK-wide ban on disposable vapes, alongside restrictions on flavours and how they will be packaged, is hoped to come into place before the next election.
The NHS recommends vaping to those who are trying to quit smoking. They say Nicotine vaping is “Substantially less harmful”, although it is not “completely harmless".
