EU countries want vaping included in bloc's tobacco tax law

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Sixteen EU countries asked the European Commission on Monday to propose a new law in the coming months on taxing tobacco in the bloc to include new products such as electronic cigarettes - vapes - which are not covered under the existing legislation.

The initiative, led by the Netherlands, has the support of Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Slovakia, Spain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Ireland, Slovenia and Portugal.

In a letter to the Commission, finance ministers from the countries say an update to the bloc's 2011 EU tobacco taxation law is needed because - in the absence of EU regulations on vaping - each country now applies different rules and levels of excise tax, distorting the bloc's single market.

"Based on the current directive, most of these products cannot be taxed like traditional tobacco products. The provisions of the current directive are insufficient or too narrow to meet the challenges faced by the administrations of Member States given the ever-evolving offerings of the tobacco industry," said the joint letter, seen by Reuters.

"Due to shortcomings in the EU legislation, Member States have taken appropriate actions at the national level. This has led to fragmentation, an uneven playing field and, ultimately, to the distortion of our internal market," it said.

An update to the EU tobacco taxation law was due already at the end of 2022, but has been delayed and governments want the new Commission, which took office on Dec. 1 for the next five years, to address this urgently.

The European Commission has so far set regulatory standards for e-cigarettes, including limits on nicotine content and labels explaining they should not be used by non-smokers. Manufacturers must register with the government before selling.

But otherwise the rules differ from country to country. In France people under the age of 18 cannot buy vapes, and their use is banned in certain public places, including universities and on public transport.

Italy lifted a ban on using electronic cigarettes in public in 2013. Use in or near schools is still forbidden. Disposable vapes have attracted particular attention from lawmakers in some European Union countries amid environmental and health concerns. France has moved to ban them entirely.

The German Federal Council, the upper house of parliament, has called on the government to push for a similar ban on disposable vapes across the EU.

(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski; Editing by Helen Popper)