European vape regulations, threats to the French industry

Vape is concerned by a number of regulations currently underway at the European Commission, but some countries have not waited to take action on taxes, flavors, online sales...

Europe is working on regulations that are intended to apply definitively to all countries. The deadlines affecting the vape sector vary, but they are all very close: 2025 for tax discussions, 2026 for their eventual application, 2027 concerning flavors, packaging and e-commerce.

However, some European countries did not wait for these EU regulations before adopting restrictive national measures on vaping. The more countries adopt certain principles, the more the European Union tends to base its future regulations on these existing practices, aiming to make them mandatory for all EU countries in the interests of harmonization. This movement naturally creates a risk for France, where taxes on vaping do not yet exist, and where flavors and online sales sites are subject to no constraints other than notification to the Anses and a ban on advertising and sales to minors. During the latest discussions in the French Assembly and Senate on the budget bill (PLF) and the Social Security financing bill (PLFSS), several members of parliament defended the tax, using the argument of alignment with other European countries.

Apart from the proposed puff law, currently under parliamentary review before publication, France has so far taken no measures other than those required by Europe under TPD2, applicable to all member states since May 2016. But the new regulatory landscape taking shape in our neighboring countries is giving rise to a very threatening trend for the French vape market, and especially for players independent of the tobacco industry. In several European countries, taxes and flavor bans have caused the closure of thousands of specialist shops, and most manufacturers have disappeared.

The French vape industry is under threat... to the benefit of tobacco

Wherever vape is developed, smoking is declining, including among young people. The destruction of the independent sector can only serve the interests of cigarette manufacturers, masters in the art of using vape to keep their customers in the tobacco ecosystem. In this way, the industry is shamelessly misusing an unprecedented risk-reduction tool, with the sole aim of preserving its core market: cigarettes. The industry's powerful influence in undermining the traditional players in the vaping sector must be denounced and fought. In reality, the only effect of restrictive measures against vaping is to slow down its growth and effectiveness, playing right into the hands of tobacco.

Against this backdrop, France remains one of the few bastions of resistance. As a result, 85% of the French market is still held by independents, in particular specialist retailers whose core business is advising and supporting smokers in their efforts to quit smoking altogether. 80% of the e-liquids consumed in France are French. 20,000 direct and indirect jobs have been created by companies generating over a billion euros in sales. Vape professionals, independent of the tobacco industry, are the No. 1 players in smoking cessation in France, making vape the undisputed best enemy of tobacco.¹.

A comprehensive overview of the current situation in European countries, together with the European Commission's forthcoming regulatory deadlines for vaping, provide a clear picture of the issues and challenges facing the French vape industry.

In several EU countries: taxes imposed, flavourings and online sales banned

In the absence of a European directive, member states are free to decide on their own regulations, both in terms of the principles and content of their laws, and the way in which they are applied. But the greater the number of countries that agree on certain principles, such as taxation, the more Europe will tend to validate this choice in terms of numbers, and simply extend the principle - such as the level or basis of taxation - to all other European countries, in the interests of harmonization.

Which countries tax vape?

19 countries - the vast majority - already tax vape: Hungary, Greece, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Italy, Poland, Belgium, Romania, Bulgaria, Germany, Estonia, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Denmark, Portugal and Sweden. The amount of the tax is always indexed to the quantity of product sold in milliliters. It generally applies to all e-liquids, with and without nicotine, and ranges from €0.09/ml in Hungary to €0.36/ml in Sweden.

Of the 27 member states, only 7 do not tax vaping: Austria, France, Ireland, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Spain.

And only 1 country, Croatia, has adopted the principle of a tax, setting it at €0.00.

But measures are underway to introduce a tax in 4 new countries from 2025: Croatia, in fact, but also the Netherlands, Slovakia and Spain.

As of January 2025, only 4 countries have yet to legislate a tax on vaping: Austria, France, Ireland and Malta.

Note :

All countries adopting a tax on vaping rely on the number of milliliters. This method of calculation favors the tobacco industry, which markets mainly disposable vaping products containing very little liquid - and a lot of plastic. This method of calculation has led to the disappearance of all independent players in certain European countries.

Which countries ban flavourings in vaping?
7countries have already banned flavourings, with the exception of tobacco and sometimes mint flavours: Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Denmark, the Netherlands and Hungary. And 3 new countries have just entered the scope of these bans, currently being implemented in Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovenia.

4 other countries are currently discussing this issue: Ireland, France, Belgium and Spain.

So far, only 13 European Union countries have no plans to ban flavoring.

Note :

Several studies have shown that restricting flavours has led to a massive decline in vaping, the stated aim of these restrictive policies, but has also led to a significant increase in the number of smokers.²³⁴⁵and the creation of a black market where products are no longer controlled⁶. What's more, essentializing tobacco "taste" as the only flavor allowed in vaping is an aberration, an incoherent choice for anyone who wants to help smokers move away from cigarettes and their attributes for good.

Which countries ban online sales of vaping products?
2states are currently concerned: Belgium, which has banned online sales since 2018, and Italy, which has just taken the same decision.

In France, the Confédération des buralistes openly calls on public authorities to ban online sales of vaping products⁷.

European deadlines

Vape is currently affected by three regulatory processes underway at European level, plus one recommendation. Their outcome will have a direct impact on consumers, retailers and manufacturers alike. And in these debates, the very status of vape, the number 1 smoking cessation tool, is also at stake.

Tobacco Products Directive - TPD3

This directive directly concerns all vaping products, e-liquids and materials, as well as the status of vape. The TPD2 had, for example, classified vape as a "related" tobacco product, limited e-liquids with nicotine to 10-milliliter bottles, and imposed a maximum nicotine content of 20 milligrams per milliliter.

TPD3, due for revision in 2027 / 2028, provides for mandatory transposition by all countries from 2029/2030. Although TPD2 has had a major impact on the market and consumer habits, its health, social and economic consequences have yet to be assessed. The issue of flavors is undoubtedly one of the main challenges of TPD3, which will also look at packaging, raising the question of the neutral package, and the subject of e-commerce.

Tobacco Excise Duty Directive - TED

For the first time, vaping products have been included in this directive, which until now has only concerned tobacco, a sign that public authorities consider taxation of vaping, the No. 1 aid to quitting smoking, to be legitimate...

The EFILE timetable is much more advanced than that of the PDT. A proposal from the Commission is expected in 2025 for possible application of the taxes from 2026, depending on the timetable for transposition into national law in each Member State.

Regulation batteries

This regulation will be applied in all European countries by February 2027. As a result, all disposable products containing a built-in battery will be banned. As far as vape is concerned, these new regulations will apply not only to puffs, but also to all boxes with built-in batteries.

Recommendation on Smoke Free Environments

These provisions on smoke-free environments, with which vape has been associated, are recommendations, and therefore by their very nature non-binding. They were published in December 2024.