Ireland: Cardiologists call for higher taxes on vaping and cigarettes

L'Irish Heart Foundation (IHF) has called on the government to increase the cost of a pack of 20 cigarettes to €20 by 2025 and to introduce a new tax on e-cigarettes in the 2021 budget to protect young people from nicotine addiction.

The IHF wants to increase the current price of cigarettes from €13.70 to €20 by 2025.[1] through a series of five annual tobacco tax increases. The organization is also calling for an additional excise tax of 6 euro cents per milliliter of e-cigarette liquid, which is expected to increase the price of vaping liquids by approximately 10 to 25%.

For Chris Macey, advocacy manager at the Irish Heart Foundation, increasing taxes on vaping products should help reduce their accessibility to minors while still keeping them affordable for adults who use them as a smoking cessation aid. He adds that any excise tax on e-cigarettes should be accompanied by a larger increase in tobacco excise tax to discourage users from returning to traditional cigarettes and rolling tobacco.

Ireland aims for a tobacco-free generation by 2025

Tobacco-free Ireland was launched in October 2013. It sets a target for Ireland to have a smoking prevalence rate below 5% by 2025. Currently, 17% of the Irish population consumes tobacco products daily. To achieve this goal, the country is relying on a dual approach of aggressive tax policies and support for smokers who want to quit. The Irish Heart Foundation is proposing to quadruple funding to help smokers quit (medications, media campaigns, etc.).

According to the IHF, the smoking rate among 15- to 16-year-olds has fallen from 41% to 12% in 20 years. This significant decline must not be undermined by the tobacco industry's attempts to deploy new, highly addictive products that are likely to make new generations addicted.[2] nicotine.

Keywords: Ireland, Taxation, Tobacco-Free Generation