The European Parliament is set to vote on a new tobacco products directive on June 17, reigniting a fierce national debate in France over the taxation of electronic cigarettes. This legislative movement has thrust the controversial topic back into the French spotlight, echoing the intense budget battles fought in the National Assembly last autumn.
Proponents of the tax, such as centrist deputy Charles de Courson, argue that e-cigarettes pose significant public health risks and act as a gateway to smoking for adolescents. “Those who vape are not 100% former smokers,” De Courson stated during a recent LCP broadcast, emphasizing the need to protect youth. Supporting this view, deputy Perrine Goulet warned that the high nicotine content in vaping products poses severe risks to younger demographics, justifying fiscal intervention.
Conversely, opponents argue that taxing vapes is counterproductive to public health. Socialist MP Anna Pic countered that no definitive studies prove vaping leads to traditional smoking, calling it “the best lever we have for smoking cessation.”
This sentiment is strongly shared by medical professionals. Dr. Marion Adler, a tobacco cessation specialist, warned that taxing e-cigarettes would directly play into the hands of the tobacco lobby. “If you tax the vape, you favor the tobacco industry,” Adler stated. On social media, Antoine Flahault, a public health professor at Bichat Hospital, went further, labeling a potential vape tax “an aberration against public health.”
This clash of ideologies mirrors the debate over Article 23 of France’s autumn finance bill (PLF). The government had previously proposed a targeted tax on e-liquids to curb consumption, which was ultimately rejected by deputies.
| E-Liquid Type (10mL Bottle) | Proposed Tax Rate (Autumn PLF) | Current Status |
|---|---|---|
| Low-Nicotine E-Liquids | €0.30 | Rejected / Deleted |
| High-Nicotine E-Liquids | €0.50 | Rejected / Deleted |
The tax was decisively stripped from the budget bill through an amendment led by left-wing MP Aurélien Le Coq. Opponents of the tax across the political spectrum—ranging from Guillaume Kasbarian to Marine Le Pen—argued that increasing the cost of vaping would remove the financial incentive for smokers to switch to a less harmful alternative. Kasbarian noted that a tax would not make people smoke less; it would simply make vaping more expensive, rendering it less competitive against lethal cigarettes.
