Smokers across Europe could soon be hit with higher prices as Brussels pushes ahead with plans to overhaul tobacco taxation – and this time cigarettes aren’t the only products in the firing line.
Proposed changes to the EU’s Tobacco Taxation Directive (TTD) would introduce higher taxes on cigarettes, while for the first time setting minimum excise duties for e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches.
The move could have a particularly significant impact in Croatia, which remains among the European countries with the highest rates of smoking.
After the European Parliament failed to agree on its position in June, negotiations are continuing within the Council of the European Union. Any changes to EU taxation rules will require the unanimous support of all member states.
Brussels Turns Its Attention to a New Generation of Nicotine Products
The European Commission believes existing taxation rules have helped reduce conventional cigarette smoking but argues that the legislation has failed to keep pace with a rapidly changing nicotine market.
E-cigarettes, heated tobacco and nicotine pouches have grown dramatically in popularity in recent years, with their increasing use among younger Europeans causing particular concern.
Around one in four Europeans still smokes or regularly uses tobacco products, while more than 11 per cent of young people aged between 13 and 15 use tobacco or products including flavoured e-cigarettes.
Across the EU, an estimated 300 billion cigarettes are sold every year, while around 24 per cent of the population smokes.
But the figures vary enormously from country to country.
Sweden sits at the bottom of the table with a smoking rate of around eight per cent, while Bulgaria is at the opposite end of the scale at approximately 37 per cent.
And Croatia is firmly towards the wrong end of the rankings.
Croatia Among Europe’s Heaviest-Smoking Nations
Both Croatia and Greece have overall smoking rates above 35 per cent, according to the figures, placing them among the EU’s heaviest-smoking countries.
By comparison, the rate is around 11 per cent in the Netherlands and 14 per cent in Denmark.
The proposed tax shake-up therefore has the potential to be particularly noticeable in Croatia, especially if higher minimum duties ultimately translate into higher prices at the checkout.
But nothing has been decided yet.
With taxation one of the areas where EU governments retain considerable power, all 27 member states will have to agree before the proposed changes can become reality.
What is clear, however, is that Brussels no longer has only traditional cigarettes in its sights. As Europeans increasingly turn to vaping, heated tobacco and nicotine pouches, the next battle over smoking is rapidly becoming a battle over nicotine in all its forms.
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