The World Vapers’ Alliance and the Croatian vapers’ association CHROM have both condemned the substance of the tax proposal and the rushed process that undermines democratic participation.

They say that it was very concerning that the public consultation period was extremely short, lasting just seven days, thereby severely limiting the opportunity for consumers, health experts, and advocacy organisations to organise a response.

CHROM conducted a survey of vapers:

• The average age of respondents was 44 years
• The average number of years of smoking before switching to vapes was 20 years
• 89.4% of respondents use vapes exclusively
• 11.6% of respondents were dual users
• 97% of respondents use e-liquids for refilling
• 86% use DIY flavors + bases
• 12% use ready-made 10 ml e-liquids
• 1.5% use disposable e-cigarettes
• 0.4% use heated tobacco (IQOS, Glo, etc.)
• If a tax comes in, over 80% of respondents said they would bypass the domestic market by online shopping, buying abroad, or using the black market
• Almost 1 in 5 of respondents said that they will probably regress to smoking cigarettes

Alberto Gómez Hernández, Policy Manager at the World Vapers’ Alliance, told Planet of the Vapes: “This tax will push prices up, discourage smokers from switching to vaping, and ultimately cost lives. The government is not only moving in the wrong direction by treating vapers as a cash cow and prioritizing tax revenue over public health but also denying citizens a fair opportunity to speak out. A seven-day consultation is unacceptable; it restricts proper engagement and makes a mockery of the democratic process.”

Read the full text here