Brussels, 12 June 2025 – The European Commission’s newly leaked plan to hike taxes on vaping products, nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco is not about protecting public health—it’s a blatant cash grab. The leaked impact assessment, now published by Clearing the Air, exposes a scheme to squeeze extra millions out of adult vapers and users of safer nicotine alternatives, with little regard for the real-world consequences.

“The Commission is treating vapers like piggy banks, not people. Lives are at risk when safer alternatives are priced out of reach, just so Brussels can fill its own pockets,” says Michael Landl, Director of the World Vapers’ Alliance.

Under the proposed rules, a 10ml bottle of e-liquid could see its price surge by at least €3.60 over four years, while nicotine pouches and heated tobacco face minimum taxes above 50% of their retail price. These increases will hit hardest in lower-income countries and among the poorest citizens, who are least able to afford higher prices, and most likely to be pushed back to smoking or the black market.

“This isn’t about health, it’s about money. The Commission is ignoring science and common sense, and gambling with the lives of millions. When safer alternatives become unaffordable, people don’t just quit—they turn to the black market or back to cigarettes. The EU must stop treating vapers as cash cows,” Landl adds.

Instead of helping smokers quit, Brussels is putting revenue before lives, and risking a public health disaster. The WVA calls on the EU and its member states to stop those plans and calls for risk-based taxation instead.