A petition against France's controversial ”Article 23” - a budget proposal that would impose taxes on e-liquid, ban online sales and effectively equate vejp products with smoking tobacco - has gathered over 130 000 signatures in just 7 days. The protests now bring together users, shop owners and doctors with a common demand: ”Don't kill the vejp”.
In mid-October, the campaign was launched “Don't kill the vape” - “Don't kill the vejping” - along with a petition on Change.org. In just three days, the petition had spread across France and climbed to the top of Change.org's list.
”Vaping is not smoking! We demand the removal of vejpning from the scope of Article 23,” the organisers write.
Ban on online sales
Against the background of the ”Projet de Loi de Finances 2026” - the draft budget currently under discussion in the French Parliament - Article 23 proposes a new excise duty on e-liquids, based on nicotine content (up to €0.03 per millilitre for milder liquids, up to €0.05 for stronger ones) and a ban on online sales to consumers. At the same time, the country's approximately 3,500 specialised vejp shops would be subject to the same rules as tobacco shops.
”The main danger of Article 23 is obvious: it equates vejping and e-cigarettes with tobacco and smoking,” writes the French website ”E-Vaps” in a commentary on the proposal.
One in three smokes in France
According to FIVAPE, the French trade organisation for independent vejp companies, this is a direct threat to a sector that includes over 800 companies and around 20,000 jobs. The organisation says that banning online sales would ”wipe out 3,000 local jobs overnight”.
”We are on the eve of a historic mobilisation,” said FIVAPE in its statement. ”Users, professionals and doctors are now uniting to defend a tool that has already helped two million French people quit smoking.”
France is both a vejping and a smoking country. Currently, 27 per cent of the adult population smokes while 6.7 per cent of the population vejpar.
Already tough rules for e-cigs
The country, like other EU countries, has a comprehensive regulatory framework governing the manufacture and sale of e-cigarettes. These regulations require product notification before the product can be placed on the market, and containers must be child-resistant and tamper-proof. Health warnings must be clearly displayed on each pack. Sales are restricted to people aged 18 and over, and the maximum nicotine concentration is limited to 20 mg/ml. There are also restrictions on tank capacity (2ml or less) in line with European Union rules. France has no restrictions on flavours, but the use of e-cigarettes is prohibited in certain public places.
Doctors: ”Smokers pay the price”
Among those supporting the protests is Professor Bertrand Dautzenberg, a pulmonologist and well-known expert on smoking cessation in France.
”Vaping is the most widely used and most effective smoking cessation aid in France,” he writes in an article in International Journal of Medicine.
”If we tax or ban e-cigarettes and e-liquid, it is those who still smoke who will pay the price,” he continues.
A gift to the tobacco industry
Professor Antoine Flahault of the Institut de Santé Globale in Geneva also warns of the consequences. He describes Article 23 as ”an indecent gift to the tobacco industry” in a post on X, which has since been quoted in various media.
This criticism comes at a time when France has already decided to ban nicotine pouches starting in 2026 - a measure that has created strong controversy both within the EU and the domestic public health debate. Article 23 has not yet been adopted. However, several MEPs have already tabled proposals to remove it completely from the budget law. Meanwhile, the ”Ne tuez pas la vape” campaign continues to grow - with the aim of stopping the law before it becomes a reality.
