Tag: Latvia

  • Latvia to Raise Tobacco Taxes Gradually for 3 Years

    Latvia to Raise Tobacco Taxes Gradually for 3 Years

    Credit: Eyeg Elb

    The Latvian government has amended its Excise Tax Law to include a gradual increase in excise taxes on e-liquids and other next-generation tobacco products.

    E-liquids other vaping products will see their excise tax rates increase by an average of 21 percent every year in 2024, 2025 and 2026. Other tobacco “substitute products” which include nicotine pouches, will rise by 10 percent.

    The amendments will negatively impact Latvia’s efforts to curb smoking by making options to switch less attractive, according to Alberto Gómez Hernández, Community Manager of the World Vapers’ Alliance.

    “Increasing the taxation of safer nicotine products will discourage smokers from switching and push users back to smoking,” Gómez Hernández said in a press release. “The international evidence has shown that increasing taxation of e-cigarettes and e-liquids has always led to an increase in smoking, particularly among young adults and low-income groups.

    “Latvia should follow the steps of countries that are successfully reducing smoking rates by encouraging smokers to switch, such as the United Kingdom and Sweden, instead of making it more costly for them.”

    The bill will also increase the excise tax rates of heated tobacco products and combustible cigarettes by 5 percent and 5.6 percent every year, respectively.

  • Latvian Vapers Petition to Keep Flavored Vapes

    Latvian Vapers Petition to Keep Flavored Vapes

    Credit: Butenkov

    More than 10,000 citizens have signed a petition to keep e-cigarette flavors legal in Latvia, reports the Baltic News Network. Because the initiative has received the legally required number of signatures, it is entitled to a review by Latvia’s parliament, the Saeima.

    Rather than banning flavors, the petition urges Latvia’s government to crack down on illegal vape sales and educate society about healthy choices.

    According to the Tobacco-Free Products Association, the vaping industry targets smokers aiming to quit cigarettes, which are believed to be far more harmful than e-cigarettes.

    According to Toms Lusis, the author of the initiative, Latvian legislators’ attitudes toward vapor products are based on outdated beliefs and studies.

    “The latest scientific data shows that e-cigarettes are up to 95 percent less dangerous for human health than regular cigarettes,” he said. “The use of e-cigarettes [is] supported as a way out of sorts for residents to stop using tobacco products as well as radically combat the widely spread smoking-related diseases like lung cancer.”

    Lusis cautioned that by denying adults the freedom of choice when it comes to e-cigarette flavors, the state could also lose considerable revenue from excise tax on flavored e-cigarette liquids.