Vape Regulations & Taxes Worldwide
A look at E-cigarette bans & regulations worldwide
As the vaping market matures, governments worldwide are implementing controls in order to take their cut of the income. Whether it’s a ban, tax, or a regulation that affects what can and can’t be sold, the proverbial noose continues to tighten on the market. This is despite the fact that vaping is the single greatest cause of the decline of the tobacco industry. An obviously healthier choice as purported by the NHS and PHE with a clear advantage over other smoking cessation products, it’s a big win for people’s health.
Finding country-specific regulations related to vaping isn’t easy and there’s a lot of conflicting evidence on the internet, so we’ve trawled the most trustworthy sites to collate all the relevant information in a concise format. Firstly, lets look at taxes.
Vape Taxes per Country
Taxes can be levied against some or all vape liquids in a couple of ways:
- A specific value
- As an ad valorem tax (VAT) – this means the tax value is derived from an assessed value of the product.
- A combination of the above
The tax amount is calculated by the government and can vary depending on the nicotine content, the volume of liquid in the bottle (with or without nicotine) and so on. The first country to implement a e-cigarette excise tax was Italy back in 2014.
Table 1: Tax implementation method by country
| Tax Method | Number of Countries |
|---|---|
| Specific Tax | 32 |
| Ad Valorem (VAT) | 5 |
| Combination | 2 |
Table 2: A further breakdown looks at the method by which each of the 39 countries implements tax.
| Tax Type | Country | Tax Based on | Tax Rate ($) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specific Tax | Fixed Rate | Albania, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt*, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Guam, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, South Korea | Volume of Liquid per ml | 0.01 – 1.38 |
| Kenya, South Korea | Per Cartridge | 0.019 – 0.021 | ||
| Kenya, Russia | Per Device | 0.03 – 1.00 | ||
| Latvia | Nicotine Concentration (mg/ml) | 0.005 | ||
| Variable Rate | Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Ukraine, Uzbekistan | Volume of liquid (per mL) by nicotine concentration level | With & without nicotine 0.03 – 0.39 & 0.00 – 0.09 respectively | |
| Philippines | Volume of liquid (per mL) by nicotine salt | Volume of salt liquid & volume of freebase liquid 0.76 & 0.10 respectively | ||
| Indonesia, Israel | Volume of liquid (per mL) by device type | Liquid volume in closed device, open device and refillable device, 0.41, 0.03 & 3.31 respectively | ||
| Ad Valorem (VAT) | Bahrain, Ecuador, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Nepal, Saudi Arabia | Sales price | 30 – 360% of sale price | |
Table 3: Year of tax implementation by country
| Country | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | X | ||||||||
| Kazakhstan & Kenya | X | ||||||||
| Latvia, Romania, Slovenia | X | ||||||||
| Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Montenegro, Russia | X | ||||||||
| Bahrain, Estonia, Indonesia, Sweden | X | ||||||||
| Albania, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Saudi Arabia | X | ||||||||
| Ecuador, Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, Philippines, Uzbekistan | X | ||||||||
| Israel, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Ukraine | X | ||||||||
| Denmark, Germany Guam, Nepal, Serbia, South Korea | X |
Global Vape Regulations
Most of the world now imposes regulations on vapes & E-Liquids, with only a few countries remaining with no laws pertinent to the industry, including but not limited to Greenland, Columbia, Mongolia & Madagascar. 33 Countries globally have implemented a blanket ban on vaping products and another 87 have imposed various regulations including flavour bans, taxes and restrictions of packaging.
Taxes levied against vaping are arguably the better option when compared to flavour bans or outright blanket bans – prohibition is an awful answer to any issues vaping may cause, especially when the benefits of it’s access far outweigh them.
Why are governments regulating and restricting Vaping products?
Governments may use various scapegoats to justify their war against vaping, including: “to protect the children” and “top protect the environment” etc, but it really boils down to tax income. Vaping is causing the rapid decline in tobacco sales and with it a rapidly dwindling tax income for the government. In order to compensate, governments look to either stop vaping in its tracks or tax it in the same way that tobacco is taxed.
Some countries are over-zealous and ignore the benefits of this incredibly successful smoking cessation whilst others take a more moderate approach, introducing taxes on nicotine containing liquids, passing legislation to ensure packaging isn’t appealing to children etc. The UK is one of the few countries left with no current tax implications, though the government have a plan up their sleeves to roll it out in the next couple of years.
Is there a way around the tax & bans?
Luckily, where there’s a will; there’s a way. Vape taxes and bans are in place on products clearly marketed to vapers. Food grade flavours suspended in Propylene Glycol are suitable for use in E-Liquid so long as they don’t contain essential oils, finding them may be difficult but not impossible.
Many hardcore DIY vapers who know their way around mixing are aware of such a loophole and instead of spending exorbitant sums on taxed or heavily regulated vape products, they buy each individual component separately and mix it themselves. So long as the flavour isn’t marketed towards vaping, a tax cannot be levied against it – think about it logically; if the government was to regulate or tax all flavours regardless of their intended use, food products would also be impacted. Doing so is obviously impractical and essentially impossible. Think smart and get yourself into DIY now, so that when the regulations change you’re in a good place to make your own liquids using the right suppliers.
