A new petition, titled "Ne tuez pas la vape !" ("Don't kill vaping!"), has been launched in France to oppose a government finance bill that proposes to tax vaping products similarly to traditional tobacco. The bill suggests a tax of €30 to €50 per liter on vaping liquids, depending on nicotine content, in addition to the existing 20% VAT. It also includes a ban on online vape sales.
The vaping industry federation FIVAPE, which launched the petition addressed to President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, argues that these measures wrongly equate vaping with smoking. They contend that vaping is a proven harm reduction tool that helps smokers quit, exposing them to far fewer toxic substances than combustible cigarettes, which are linked to 75,000 annual deaths in France.
The petition warns that taxing vapes will disproportionately affect smokers from lower-income backgrounds, who are often more receptive to harm reduction approaches like vaping than classic nicotine replacement therapies. It also argues that banning online sales would cut off access for hundreds of thousands of users. Proponents of the petition are urging the government to recognize vaping's role in public health and prevent these new measures from becoming law.
