German tax blunder leaves vape duty missing in action
Germany’s finance ministry has managed an unusual feat: trying to raise tobacco taxes while apparently deleting the current tax rate for vape liquids.
Nicotine policy, in perspective.
Independent reporting and analysis on nicotine policy and harm-reduction in Europe.
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Canadian campaigners want lifetime sales ban on vapes for next generation
Canadian health campaigners are pushing for a lifetime ban on tobacco and vape sales to the next generation, extending restrictions to products that can help smokers quit.
Don’t shut off smokers’ escape route, Labour MPs warn ministers
Labour MPs have urged ministers to protect vaping as a route out of smoking, as the Government targets 1 June 2027 for a UK-wide advertising ban.
Investigations
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INVESTIGATION: Who’s behind the anti-nicotine propaganda?
Pharmaceutical companies selling costly treatments for smoking-related diseases also fund organisations campaigning for tighter restrictions on safer nicotine products. Peter examines whether those relationships deserve closer scrutiny.
Analysis & opinion
View allA story of two consultations: picking apart the Commission’s summary report
Peter Beckett examines what the European Commission’s summary of its nicotine consultations leaves out — and why the design of the questions matters.
INVESTIGATION: Who’s behind the anti-nicotine propaganda?
Pharmaceutical companies selling costly treatments for smoking-related diseases also fund organisations campaigning for tighter restrictions on safer nicotine products. Peter examines whether those relationships deserve closer scrutiny.
More from our reporting
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French vapers face fresh tax threat as MPs battle over nicotine rules
French MPs have revived plans to tax vape liquids, putting consumers back in the firing line just weeks after the government left vaping out of its draft budget.
Science
View allSmoking among young Swiss people falls by almost a quarter in two years
The proportion of young people smoking in Switzerland fell by almost a quarter between 2023 and 2025, while monthly vaping remained broadly stable.
Vaping cancer claims challenged by limits of laboratory study
A laboratory study found cancer-like changes in lung cells exposed to vaping extract, but its findings do not establish that vaping causes cancer in people.
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Data
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Smoking among young Swiss people falls by almost a quarter in two years
The proportion of young people smoking in Switzerland fell by almost a quarter between 2023 and 2025, while monthly vaping remained broadly stable.
Estonia’s smoking rate falls by more than a quarter as vaping more than triples
Estonia has recorded one of Europe’s clearest recent shifts away from smoking, with current smoking falling by more than a quarter while vaping more than tripled between 2020 and 2024.
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Follow policy as it changes across Europe.