The European Commission wants to start taxing nicotine-free e-liquid - the same product that is currently key for hundreds of thousands of Europeans who want to leave cigarettes behind. The proposal would make it more expensive to quit nicotine. And worst of all, that is the very purpose of the policy.
Most people who start vejpa do so to stop smoking. The way out of cigarettes is often by gradually reducing nicotine. You mix nicotine-containing liquids with nicotine-free liquids until, at best, you don't need nicotine at all. That's how it works - and that's why nicotine-free liquids are key.
But Brussels wants to make the nicotine-free e-liquid more expensive. Much more expensive. The tax could raise the price by ten kronor per millilitre. This means that a standard 50ml bottle - currently the best-selling product in Swedish vape shops - will be almost as expensive as disposable models with maximum nicotine content. What do you think will happen then?
Yes, consumers are increasingly opting out of nicotine-free alternatives. Manufacturers stop producing them. What's left are disposable models and high-dose liquids. The result? More people are getting hooked on nicotine, fewer are getting off it.
And the worst thing is that this is not an unfortunate side effect. It is the very purpose. The EU wants to 'harmonise' taxes between different nicotine products so that it no longer pays to choose less harmful alternatives to cigarettes. This applies to nicotine pouches as well as e-cigarettes and e-liquid. This is a policy that favours cigarette sales - at the expense of public health.
Nicotine use is a complex societal issue, where we need to balance factors such as market forces, consumer choice and demand against proportionate protection of minors when regulating. Sweden has shown that harm minimisation works well in this market. Snus and nicotine pouches have likely saved thousands of lives. Now we need to defend vejpningen in the same way. Because at the end of the day, it's not about bottles and taxes. It's about giving thousands more people a realistic chance to actually put cigarettes behind them and to have better opportunities to kick their addiction at their own pace. If they so wish.
It's time for our politicians to put their foot down. Don't let a directly harmful EU policy hit us consumers.
Stefan Mathisson
Editor-in-Chief
responsible publisher
Vejpkollen.se and VapeTjek.dk
I use 10 ml Hangsen USA Mix because it is the tobacco flavour that tastes best. I mix one 12 mg with two 0 mg. If the nicotine-free becomes more expensive, it will be to smoke 6 mg or 12 mg. Quite unnecessary you might think. I have no intention of quitting, at least not because of this.