Federal Council plans to tax e-cigarettes containing nicotine

Consumers of e-cigarettes will have to pay tobacco tax in the future. That is what the partial revision of the Tobacco Act aims at, the message of which was approved on Wednesday.

The tax should take into account the lower harmful potential of e-cigarettes and be correspondingly lower than for classic tobacco cigarettes, as announced by the Federal Council. Specifically, the tax rate for reusable e-cigarettes should be twenty cents per milliliter of nicotine-containing liquid. For single-use e-cigarettes, the proposed tax rate is one franc per milliliter of liquid – regardless of nicotine content.

The Federal Council wrote in its statement that tax rates for reusable e-cigarettes were deliberately low. Smokers who want to quit should not be discouraged from using e-cigarettes as a possible way to quit. On the other hand, the higher tax on single-use e-cigarettes should have an effect, especially when it comes to protecting minors.

The Federal Council expects the new tax to generate an additional annual income of approximately CHF 13.8 million, which will be set aside for the co-financing of the AHV and IV.

The draft for consultation stated that tobacco taxes for e-cigarettes should be 77 percent lower than for conventional tobacco products. In the consultation, this was criticized by the long league and the tobacco prevention working group as too low and by the SVP and the Swiss Vape Trade Association (SVTA) as too high.

As the Federal Council report shows, the government has accommodated both camps. Tax rates should be 93 percent lower for disposable cartridges compared to traditional cigarettes. For single-use e-cigarettes, which are mainly used by young people, the new rate is only 67 percent below that of conventional tobacco products.

During the meeting, SP and the two health organizations also called for simultaneously raising tax rates on conventional tobacco products. The price for a pack of cigarettes will be increased from the current CHF 8.8 to CHF 14.25 and for the other products by 65 percent. However, the Federal Council rejected this request.

The amendment to the tobacco excise law is based on a motion by the Social Security and Public Health Commission of the Council of States (SBK-S). (sda)