Ireland has introduced the highest vape tax in the European Union — but experts warn it could backfire. In this episode of GFN News, Joanna Junak speaks with Will Godfrey of Filter about how the new €0.50/ml levy may reduce switching, misinform the public, and even risk increasing smoking rates. Advocates argue the policy hits low-income groups hardest and undermines Ireland’s public health goals.
Transcription:
00:05 - 00:34
[Joanna Junak]
Hello and welcome. I'm Joanna Junak and this is GFN News on GFN.TV. Today we'll be speaking with Will Godfrey of Filter about a new vape tax in Ireland. Will, what's been happening there?
00:36 - 01:16
[Will Godfrey]
Hi, Joanna. On November 1st, Ireland implemented a new tax of half a euro per millilitre of e-liquid. That's the highest vape tax in the European Union. Amid waves of anti-vape messaging, the country is expected to follow up with restrictions on flavours, packaging and advertising, and a ban on disposables. Alongside forthcoming legislation, this tax further supports efforts to reduce the appeal and accessibility of vapes to young people, said Health Minister Jennifer Carol McNeill. But Irish tobacco harm reduction advocates condemn the move, as Kieran Sidhu reported for Filter.
01:17 - 01:20
[Joanna Junak]
And what are the reasons they oppose it?
01:21 - 02:39
[Will Godfrey]
Fundamentally, it reduces the financial incentive for people to switch in a country that is abjectly failing on smoking cessation. The Tobacco Free Ireland plan aimed for a national smoking rate under 5% by 2025. But today, Ireland's smoking rate stands at about 18%. With the help of vapes, said Damien Sweeney of New Nicotine Alliance Ireland, the country was making significant progress until about 2019 when the so-called EVALI outbreak changed public messaging and boosted misinformation. Since then, the smoking rate has flatlined. The new tax is yet another attack on something that can help public health goals, Sweeney said. It's illogical and backwards thinking. Research has shown that vape taxes can even increase smoking rates when we're talking about substitution products and low income populations that smoke at the highest rates will be hit hardest by higher vaping costs. This tax is a tax on quitting smoking disproportionately affecting people who have less to spend, said Tom Gleeson of NNA Ireland. He predicts a further shift to black market products and an increase in smoking.
02:40 - 02:44
[Joanna Junak]
Will the new tax mean that vapes are more expensive than cigarettes?
02:46 - 03:38
[Will Godfrey]
No. Vaping is much costlier than it was, but smoking remains more expensive after a recent tax hike on tobacco, and that's important for consumers to know. But the real issue, Sweeney said, is that the price gap has narrowed significantly, reducing the incentive to switch at a time when that incentive is badly needed. Another problem is what this move tells people. It sends the message that the harms of e-cigarettes are comparable to smoking, said Dr. Garrett McGovern. McGovern argued against the tax on a recent radio segment where the questions put to him focused more on youth vaping than on the bigger problem of smoking-related deaths. This is a dreadful public health policy, he told Kieran, likely to disproportionately affect the poor and marginalised, while also misinforming the public about the benefits of vaping.
03:41 - 03:55
[Joanna Junak]
Thank you, Will. That's all for today. Tune in next time here on GFN or on our podcast. You can also find transcriptions of each episode on the GFN TV website. Thanks for watching or listening. See you next time.