PUFF TIMES
Cost of vapes will increase under govt plans for new TAX – and some face total ban
A VAPE tax is being considered as part of sneaky plans to push people to quit - while disposable products could be BANNED.
Proposals for a new levy on e-cigs were buried in the small-print of today's King’s Speech.
1
Ministers announced the consultation as part of a smoking crackdown that will eventually phase out fags.
They vowed to take “action on the affordability of vapes, including exploring a new duty on vapes as other countries have done”.
But they suggested any tax would still be less than cigarettes, by “ensuring that there is a significant differential between duty vapes and tobacco products”.
It will spark fresh fears Rishi Sunak is embarking on a nanny state drive to price Brits out of vaping.
While the government wants to actually promote vaping to help smokers quit, it is toughening laws generally.
READ MORE ON POLITICS
The consultation will consider measures to “restrict the sale and supply of disposable vapes, including considering prohibiting their sale”.
The tough new anti-smoking measures would see the smoking age increased by a year every year to eventually make it illegal for anyone to buy cigarettes.
The ban will be subject to a "free vote" in Parliament, meaning MPs will not be told how to vote by party enforcers.
But Labour has confirmed its intention to vote with the government, so the new law will fly through parliament.
Most read in The Sun
The plan was originally rejected by ministers when suggested previously.
But Mr Sunak has now said: "People take up cigarettes when they are young. Four in five smokers have started by the time they are 20. Later, the vast majority try to quit.
"But many fail because they are addicted and they wish had never taken up the habit in the first place."
Topics