Charities related to Cancer have hit back at the government plan of taxing e-cigarettes. This also includes various companies in the United Kingdom vaping industry. Since e-cigarettes are the main cause of smokers cutting down smoking, these charities are saying that this is a “sin tax” imposed on e-cigs. This may also result in an increase in tobacco smoking as well. Also, this may lead to massive repercussions in the general public and their vape/tobacco consumption.
If you are not sure about what vaping is, well vaping is the act of inhaling vapor. An e cigarette that is available in  a number of flavors in the market is converted into vapor. Vapers can be seen making vape clouds, participating in cloud competitions. When compared to tobacco cigarettes, vaping is a new industry. Regardless of this fact, vape industry is thriving as awareness about the disadvantages of tobacco cigarettes is increasing among general public.
One insider news claim that a tax raise of over 40 million pounds can be raised from the implementation of this tax. This kind of expansive tax can easily target up to 2.9 million vape users which also say that their prime motivation to vape was to quit or control smoking and now it has become their major recreational activity. And there is no doubt about vape being a major help in quitting smoking from the masses in general. However, despite all this and the fact that NHS itself encourages the use of e-cigarettes being a major cause of giving up smoking, the news has made the shelves nonetheless. Vapers will likely be hit by this and probably taken aback as they were tax-free up until now.
So, in retaliation, a whopping number of pro-vaping and charities are hitting back. One such institute, Cancer Research UK said that taxing vapes and e-cigarettes creates a wall between the smoker and the way of quitting smoking. Smokers will now less likely be motivated to shift to vaping as a result of this. The tobacco tax is implemented to prevent smokers from smoking and it helps prevent a number of diseases, but this tax discourages those smokers to even try vaping as a social activity or an alternative to smoking which is scientifically healthier and helps quit smoking.
One of the representatives of UK Vaping Industry Association explained that vaping should be taken as a major health opportunity which has already helped over 3 million smokers to quit smoking. This as a result has saved the NHS billions of pounds according to the research conducted by the government. A tax limiting the use of such activity that only contributes to health instead of harming it would make less to no sense.
According to the Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association, the tax which the government collects via tobacco (excise duty and value-added tax) builds up to an already humongous 12 billion pounds. On a regular pack of cigarettes (20 in number) a total tax burden of 6.28 pounds accounts to 82 percent of the total recommended retail price of 8.5 pounds while this same burden is raised to around 90 percent on some cheaper brands. The tax usually never remains static annually and if such a tax implemented on vaping continues to grow, this would obviously mean a gradual end to potentially millions of smokers killing their desire to shift to vaping and ultimately ending in more health problems then there are already.