A “fundamental error” or a way to prevent young people from vaping? The tax on vaping products proposed by the government as part of the 2026 budget divides health professionals.
This measure, which makes vapers tremble, will (slightly) increase the price of liquids for electronic cigarettes. If approved, the budget provides for an additional tax of 30 to 50 cents per 10-milliliter bottle, depending on the nicotine level. A product already taxed with 20% VAT.
Although the electronic cigarette is presented as one of the alternatives to quit smoking, the experts interviewed by BFMTV show slightly divergent opinions. David Saint-Vincent, coordinator of the addictions department at the Rouen University Hospital and “tobacco” reference for the Addiction Federation, believes that the tool “can help take a first step” to get away from smoking.
A step that some take “sometimes for health reasons, but often mainly for economic reasons.” Therefore, he does not look favorably on the principle of this tax:
“Taxing a public health instrument is very problematic,” he says.
“This is not a prescription.”
Faced with the known negative effects of tobacco, David Saint-Vincent proposes the minor effects of vaping. The practice presents less risk in the absence of combustion, unlike traditional cigarettes, which would reduce their harmfulness by 95% compared to their predecessor, according to a study by Public Health England. Other professionals insist on the lack of retrospective data and data that allow us to know the hypothetical long-term negative effects.
“In reality, vaping is a somewhat fashionable solution, but one that continues to be debated in the scientific community. It is not a device that we are going to recommend to patients. It is not a medical prescription. Whether they vape or not, people must resort to nicotine substitutes reimbursed by Health Insurance,” underlines Guillaume Davido, addict, also interviewed by BFMTV.
Unlike his colleague cited above, Guillaume Davido sees these taxes as a useful lever for public health. According to him, the deterrent effect linked to price increases, already observed in tobacco, could be reproduced in vaping products.
“It is true that we celebrate the reduction in the number of smokers in 2024, and I think one of the reasons was the increase in the price of packs of cigarettes. The increase in prices encourages people to consume less,” he observes.
According to Public Health France, the country had fewer than 4 million smokers in 2024, a sharp drop compared to ten years earlier. This evolution coincides with the progressive increase in the price of the package, which now ranges between 13 and 14 euros.
Keep young people away from vaping?
But could this new tax also have the beneficial effect of keeping young people away from vaping? “In my opinion, this will have a deterrent effect among young people, who often have more economic limitations,” estimates David Saint-Vincent.
The two specialists also affirm the need to limit the “appeal among young people” of vaping. According to the French Observatory on drugs and addictive tendencies, 64% of young people between 18 and 24 years old have already experimented with electronic cigarettes. People between 25 and 35 years old use it the most daily, with a rate of 8.7%.
“More and more figures show that young people who have never smoked cigarettes are starting to vape. I don’t know if there is a clear strategy behind this tax increase, but if we think it worked for cigarettes by increasing the price of the package, why not try it?” says Guillaume Davido, closely accompanied by the administrator of the Addiction Federation.
“It is not about young people who do not smoke starting to vape, it would be a shame (…) We must maintain the rules. Young people who are not yet dependent on nicotine do not have to try ‘vaping’,” adds the latter.
Regulation will intensify
If the French tax is adopted, it should come into force in the second half of 2026. But other measures could follow. In July, the European Commission proposed a directive that provided for much higher taxes on vaping products between now and 2028: between €1.20 and €3.60 per 10 ml bottle.
In addition, the draft budget for 2026 also foresees a slight increase in taxes on heated tobacco, a product that is sometimes presented as an alternative to electronic cigarettes, but is marketed by the same manufacturers as traditional tobacco.
Source: BFM TV
