{"id":6793,"date":"2026-02-20T01:53:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T06:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/?p=6793"},"modified":"2026-02-20T01:53:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T06:53:37","slug":"brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/eu\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\/","title":{"rendered":"Brussels Targets Ex-Smokers: EU Presidency Pushes 50% Hike in Proposed Vape &hellip;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>BRUSSELS\/STOCKHOLM, 20 February 2026<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 The World Vapers\u2019 Alliance (WVA) has joined a pan-European coalition of consumer groups in an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vejpkollen.se\/en\/2026\/02\/till-svenska-regeringen-sta-upp-for-folkhalsan-och-sag-nej-till-orimliga-nikotinskatter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>open letter<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> calling on the Swedish government to veto the latest draft of the EU Tobacco Excise Directive (TED) recast. As the Working Party on Tax Questions prepares to meet on 25 February 2026, the proposal has devolved into a punitive assault on smokers trying to quit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/post\/exclusive-eu-puts-huge-vape-tax-increase-back-on-the-table\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">latest leaked proposal<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> ignores public health data and doubles down on a hostile fiscal agenda. The proposal labels non-combustible products an &#8220;intrinsic public health risk&#8221; and promotes the debunked &#8220;gateway&#8221; narrative, claiming they lead to conventional smoking. Most alarmingly, the Presidency has hiked the proposed minimum tax on e-liquids from \u20ac0.20 to \u20ac0.30 per ml\u2014a 50% increase over the original plan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Michael Landl, Director of the WVA, stated:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b><i>\u201cThis is a fiscal ambush on millions of ex-smokers. By hiking the proposed minimum tax on e-liquids by a further 50% the EU is choosing to protect tax revenue over smoking cessation. This isn&#8217;t a health strategy; it\u2019s a desperate attempt to treat vapers like a government ATM.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The draft also explicitly clears the way for Member States to prohibit specific product categories, such as flavours, under the guise of national competence. These extreme tax hikes and prohibitions will not stop use but will instead fuel black markets and empower criminal gangs. The consumer organisations urge Sweden and other Member States to follow the evidence and veto a directive that treats life-saving alternatives as a threat rather than a solution.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BRUSSELS\/STOCKHOLM, 20 February 2026 \u2013 The World Vapers\u2019 Alliance (WVA) has joined a pan-European coalition of consumer groups in an open letter calling on the Swedish government to veto the latest draft of the EU Tobacco Excise Directive (TED) recast. As the Working Party on Tax Questions prepares to meet on 25 February 2026, the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6730,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-releases"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Brussels Targets Ex-Smokers: EU Presidency Pushes 50% Hike in Proposed Vape Tax - World Vapers&#039; Alliance<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/eu\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Brussels Targets Ex-Smokers: EU Presidency Pushes 50% Hike in Proposed Vape Tax - World Vapers&#039; Alliance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BRUSSELS\/STOCKHOLM, 20 February 2026 \u2013 The World Vapers\u2019 Alliance (WVA) has joined a pan-European coalition of consumer groups in an open letter calling on the Swedish government to veto the latest draft of the EU Tobacco Excise Directive (TED) recast. As the Working Party on Tax Questions prepares to meet on 25 February 2026, the [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/eu\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World Vapers&#039; Alliance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-20T06:53:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Press-Release-Banner-NEW-Square-scaled.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2362\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Landl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michael Landl\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Landl\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/05f663571d787d89a2d5c77c482a6583\"},\"headline\":\"Brussels Targets Ex-Smokers: EU Presidency Pushes 50% Hike in Proposed Vape &hellip;\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-20T06:53:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":262,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Press-Release-Banner-NEW-Square-scaled.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Press Releases\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-150\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\\\/\",\"name\":\"Brussels Targets Ex-Smokers: EU Presidency Pushes 50% Hike in Proposed Vape Tax - World Vapers&#039; Alliance\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Press-Release-Banner-NEW-Square-scaled.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-20T06:53:37+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-150\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-150\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Press-Release-Banner-NEW-Square-scaled.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Press-Release-Banner-NEW-Square-scaled.png\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":2362},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"World Vapers&#039; Alliance\",\"description\":\"The largest community of vapers\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-150\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"World Vapers&#039; Alliance\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-150\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/WVA_RB_Fist_G.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/WVA_RB_Fist_G.png\",\"width\":985,\"height\":1177,\"caption\":\"World Vapers&#039; Alliance\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/05f663571d787d89a2d5c77c482a6583\",\"name\":\"Michael Landl\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-150\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1537a11db5ae7fef0631b6c662f439d8a632c50630c980828d0e2c4de581568b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1537a11db5ae7fef0631b6c662f439d8a632c50630c980828d0e2c4de581568b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1537a11db5ae7fef0631b6c662f439d8a632c50630c980828d0e2c4de581568b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Michael Landl\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/worldvapersalliance.com\\\/eu\\\/author\\\/michael\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Brussels Targets Ex-Smokers: EU Presidency Pushes 50% Hike in Proposed Vape Tax - World Vapers&#039; Alliance","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/eu\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Brussels Targets Ex-Smokers: EU Presidency Pushes 50% Hike in Proposed Vape Tax - World Vapers&#039; Alliance","og_description":"BRUSSELS\/STOCKHOLM, 20 February 2026 \u2013 The World Vapers\u2019 Alliance (WVA) has joined a pan-European coalition of consumer groups in an open letter calling on the Swedish government to veto the latest draft of the EU Tobacco Excise Directive (TED) recast. As the Working Party on Tax Questions prepares to meet on 25 February 2026, the [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/eu\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\/","og_site_name":"World Vapers&#039; Alliance","article_published_time":"2026-02-20T06:53:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":2362,"url":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Press-Release-Banner-NEW-Square-scaled.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Michael Landl","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Michael Landl","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\/"},"author":{"name":"Michael Landl","@id":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/#\/schema\/person\/05f663571d787d89a2d5c77c482a6583"},"headline":"Brussels Targets Ex-Smokers: EU Presidency Pushes 50% Hike in Proposed Vape &hellip;","datePublished":"2026-02-20T06:53:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\/"},"wordCount":262,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Press-Release-Banner-NEW-Square-scaled.png","articleSection":["Press Releases"],"inLanguage":"en-150","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\/","url":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\/","name":"Brussels Targets Ex-Smokers: EU Presidency Pushes 50% Hike in Proposed Vape Tax - World Vapers&#039; Alliance","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Press-Release-Banner-NEW-Square-scaled.png","datePublished":"2026-02-20T06:53:37+00:00","inLanguage":"en-150","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-150","@id":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/brussels-targets-ex-smokers-eu-presidency-pushes-50-hike-in-proposed-vape-tax\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Press-Release-Banner-NEW-Square-scaled.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Press-Release-Banner-NEW-Square-scaled.png","width":2560,"height":2362},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/","name":"World Vapers&#039; Alliance","description":"The largest community of vapers","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-150"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/#organization","name":"World Vapers&#039; Alliance","url":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-150","@id":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/WVA_RB_Fist_G.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/WVA_RB_Fist_G.png","width":985,"height":1177,"caption":"World Vapers&#039; Alliance"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/#\/schema\/person\/05f663571d787d89a2d5c77c482a6583","name":"Michael Landl","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-150","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1537a11db5ae7fef0631b6c662f439d8a632c50630c980828d0e2c4de581568b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1537a11db5ae7fef0631b6c662f439d8a632c50630c980828d0e2c4de581568b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1537a11db5ae7fef0631b6c662f439d8a632c50630c980828d0e2c4de581568b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Michael Landl"},"url":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/eu\/author\/michael\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldvapersalliance.com\/eu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}