Majority of vapers say they are unaware of new duty
THE UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has revealed has more than half of adult vapers had no idea that a new duty charge is set to be introduced across the category.
A survey of almost 3,500 adults who vape found that more than half had no idea the new duty was being introduced, while almost 60% of this number did not know it would also apply to nicotine-free products.
The Vaping Products Duty (VPD) is set to come into force on 1 October and will see a rate of £2.20 per 10ml of e-liquid introduced across all vaping products.
This will rise to £2.64 once VAT is applied as well, says the UKVIA which could see the price of some vaping devices rise by as much as 264%.
The UKVIA has warned that the biggest increase in prices will be seen across lower-cost products, meaning that lower-income shoppers will feel a greater impact from the duty. However, this will still be felt across the board as 98% of those surveyed said that affordability was an important factor in their decision to switch to vapes from traditional tobacco smoking.
In addition to this, the UKVIA survey also found that half of respondents said they would return to traditional tobacco smoking or to the black market once the duty comes into force – representing around 2.5million adults based on the UK vaping population.
Only one in 10 said their vaping habits would be unaffected by the introduction of VPD and around two thirds of respondents believed that the duty will have little to no effect on youth vaping levels.
John Dunne, director general at the UKVIA, said: “There is absolutely no debate that we need to prevent young people from accessing vaping products, and it’s not that the industry is flatly opposed to a duty increase, but the incoming rate is nothing short of a public health timebomb.
“If we want to talk about duty, how about the Government’s duty to protect one of the most effective tools available to adults trying to quit smoking? The Government says the duty will help reduce the appeal of vaping to young people while preserving the financial incentive for smokers to switch, with the money raised also intended to support the NHS.
“But if the result is more adults returning to smoking and a greater burden on the health service from smoking-related illness, that is completely at odds with what this policy is trying to achieve.
“And it’s not as if this should come as a surprise. HMRC’s own research three years ago showed just how sensitive vaping is to price, with 62% of those surveyed as part of the ‘Understanding the Vaping Market’ report saying they would reduce how much they vape if prices doubled.”
