Ireland wants vaping included in new EU tobacco tax law

Finance ministers from 16 European countries say in the absence of EU regulations on vaping, each country now applies different rules and levels of excise tax, distorting the bloc's single market

The European Commission has so far set regulatory standards for e-cigarettes, including limits on nicotine content and labels explaining they should not be used by non-smokers, but otherwise the rules differ from country to country.

Sixteen EU countries including Ireland asked the European Commission on Monday to propose a new law in the coming months on taxing tobacco in the bloc to include new products such as electronic cigarettes — vapes — which are not covered under the existing legislation.

The initiative, led by the Netherlands, has the support of Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Slovakia, Spain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Portugal and Ireland.