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OVER HALF OF people surveyed want to see vapes and e-cigarettes taxed in line with other EU countries.
Currently, VAT is charged on vaping products but they do not have excise duty levied on them like normal cigarettes.
In the government’s tax strategy paper on vapes and nicotine cigarettes, there is widespread consensus on the need to update tobacco tax legislation in order to include vapes in the scope for taxation, particularly out of health concerns due to e-cigarettes.
The latest survey gathered responses from stakeholders, many of whom use these products, about a range of questions surrounding nicotine inhaling products and their regulation.
The consultation looked at potential additional measures to decrease the appeal of these products to young people, further denormalise smoking, and improve public health.
Some 15,821 responses were received in total, with 90% of members of the public who responded being current vapers.
Other responses were received from organisations and individuals in the spheres of health, education, consumer rights, retail, hospitality and the manufacture and distribution of nicotine inhaling products and tobacco products.
Minister for Finance Jack Chambers is currently considering what level of taxation should be introduced.
“It’s our intention to make progress on that in this year’s Budget,” he said earlier this month.
“There’s work ongoing between Revenue and the Department of Finance on how we can operationalise that.”
The survey results will be carefully considered by the Department and will feed into future decisions about the level of taxation that could be applied to vape products.
It is expected that the rate will be somewhere between 10c and 30c per millilitre of liquid in the vape or e-cigarette.
Senior sources in the government have said vapes should be taxed at the highest rate.
There will likely be a year-on-year continuous increase in the tax starting from Budget 2025 in October.
Billed as a healthier alternative to smoking, vaping began to take off in Ireland a decade ago, with e-cigarettes becoming increasingly widely available through standalone shops, convenience stores and petrol stations.
While the industry has long claimed its products are a less harmful way to help people quit smoking, Irish health authorities have for many years advocated a precautionary approach, particularly due to the presence of highly addictive nicotine.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said he intends to introduce legislation to regulate the display and advertisement of vapes in shops, the packaging and appearance of the products and the flavours of vape liquids.
“I will also ban single use vapes, which are detrimental to the health of our young people and to our environment.”
The Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act 2023 was passed, which banned the sale of vapes to under 18s and introduced a new licensing system.
“But there is more to do,” said Donnelly.
“I am committed to ensuring that we progress further legislation as soon as possible after summer.”
With reporting by Christina Finn
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Can we get surveys on if we would like VRT,petrol, diesel, cigarettes, alcohol etc taxed in line with other EU countries ?
@Michale Kane: a come on now there is now need for that type of sensible talk , how else would forbiesy get the 400k payoff n golden pension, If the pleb on the street want double taxed on everything
@Michale Kane: petrol is less taxed in Ireland.
@Michale Kane: Hear hear!
@Michale Kane: €1.21 for petrol in Tenerife..
Robbed blind here.
Who was surveyed.?
@Michael o Dwyer: Jack Chambers and Stephen Donnelly.
Taxing addiction has a long history of success, addicts always pay up! So why stop now?
I’m amazed they don’t tax tea heavily.
@Steve O’Hara-Smith: or coffee……after all, in this household, everyone knows not to talk until I’ve had my hit…..
Nothing like a good tax to create a black market
What wil they use the extra tax on ??? Seem mad to tax everything atm
@derek doogan: maybe towards the cost of treating the associated chronic health conditions
@Thomas Sheridan: what conditions are they now ?
People should not pump these unknown Chinese chemicals into their lungs. Very dangerous
@Sean Money: But the packets have lots of colours and cool characters. How can they possibly be bad or dangerous? Vinny Vanilla, the vape loving dinosaur, looks so happy vaping! They’re extinct. We’ll be soon. What’s the issue?!
No shortage of taxes but shortage of Teachers, shortage of Gardai, shortage of Doctors, Nurses, Dentistsand Hospital Beds, shortage of Navel and Army Personnel, shortage of Bus Drivers, shortage of Tradesmen etc.
Probably non smokers of any kind.
Few things as pathetic as grown adults vaping.
@Don Johnson: My daughter’s partner never smoked yet he is now addicted to vapes.
@Don Johnson: or anyone really, adult or child
@Don Johnson: well your comment is as p@thetic for one.
@damien leen: why Damien? Why is it pathetic?
@Eamon: Nicotine is no more dangerous than caffeine. Know anyone that is addicted to tea/coffee?? Should they be taxed into oblivion.
I would love to see who was surveyed for this “survey”. Nobody is the answer. This poxy gov wants to introduce another tax on a product in order to make people’s lives as miserable as the ruling class is. Leave people alone.. you effing parasitic piigs.
@Gerry Lamont: ahh seriously ; are you for real ? This site is something
I prefer my rollies ! Nearly 17e for 30g now. I heard 90% is tax (+/-) correct me If I’m wrong. Lasts me a week. I’m paying a lot of money to die painfully. Let’s not even talk about beer or cannabis
@offside again: you will be on cocaine soon at this rate
@offside again: Seeing as many of us with bad habits won’t be around later on in old age when things get really expensive, it makes sense to make these things CHEAPER and save on health costs later! View it as an investment in the future government peeps! And yes we’ll sign the DNR forms so you can throw us in the cremation queue as soon as things start going belly up!
@offside again: Just get urs from likes of Spain , less than a quarter of price here..
@Sean Money: Never ever ! People I met under the influence of that weren’t interesting at all.
@SerotoninWars: if only it was just a bad habit ! My life is as it should be as they say, but maybe I’m getting drunk and stoned too often.
So what
Human life on earth, conciousness etc
are the real questions
@offside again: It’s hard to keep your head above water right now. Endless bad news, social media has us all completely mad and the feeling things are getting worse is hard to shake. Take it easy on yourself. In an ideal world we’d all put down the crutches but that’s easier said than done! Even small steps like cutting down and taking some days off can really help. Vape the weed instead of using tobacco etc! Harm reduction is the name of the game these days.
‘Human life on earth, conciousness etc
are the real questions’
Those are the biggies alright!
We’ve been driving ourselves crazy forever trying to figure these out.
So far, no one has come up with a unifying answer with solid proof so maybe we’ll just have to have as much fun as we can with the big questions. It might be really boring if we had them all handed to us on a plate!
@SerotoninWars: a 10 spot (2g+/-) of pollen lasts me a month.
My biggest hit is a mug of tea and my first cigarette of the day !!!
Tax the heck out of them. They are purposely made to target kids and teens.
@Jason Walsh: Vaping goes back quite a few years now. It was originally invented by a Chinese man to help get him off of the cigarettes. When it started becoming more popular they quickly realised that people didn’t actually want the tobacco flavoured vape juices. They were disgusting! People wanted the nicotine but now they had the option, went with this new menu of flavours. I get that they probably are appealing to kids with the colourful packaging but it didn’t start out as some dastardly scheme to get kids hooked. Big tobacco only got involved after they saw the success the people who there at the start were having.
Maybe the restrictive approach will work but my gut feeling is that the kids will find something else or worse go to the black market. The underworld will be popping the champagne corks if this gets added to the list of items they can produce and make a big profit on. Teenagers looking for ways to rebel is a tale as old as time. Meanwhile the rest of us get punished, as usual.
@SerotoninWars: it totally did when it went mass market, those companies target kids in a big way
@Jason Walsh: I’ve no doubt there’s some cynical capitalists looking to make money from the youth market. Is there any industry where this isn’t happening though? Clothing, music, TV, social media and so on. It just feels like we’re back to ‘won’t someone think of the children?’. It’s pretty annoying that so many adults will be penalised and face restrictions when teenagers do what they want anyway. I remember the pure determination to ‘go to the bad’ when me and my friends were teenagers and no amount of restrictions were going to stop us. Of course we should look after the younger generations as much as we can. We can and should inform and educate, but I wonder how much of an effect all of this banning and restriction will have in the end. Where there’s a will there’s a way and there’s nothing more determined than a teenager out for fun and experimentation.
Going by the last referndums i think u can take government surveys with a pinch of salt.just come out and say we want to this and thats it.
Looking at an old black and white film is hilarious, the two main characters, even in the love scene, are smoking, clouds of smoke everywhere!
Survey may as well have been, “Would you like others to pay more tax to help reduce your own?”
Avoid at all costs
Vapes really need to go
Add a 99.99% tax on all vapes
have your say