00:00A lot has changed since EU tobacco taxation rules were last updated in 2011.
00:07Novel nicotine products, including fruit-flavoured vapes and nicotine pouches, entered the market, and use skyrocketed.
00:14A revision of tax rules was proposed, with an emphasis on the role of raising prices to reduce use.
00:21However, concerns over high inflation delayed this revision.
00:25Experts and EU ministers questioned the delay, stressing a review is essential.
00:30Four teenagers out of ten vaped in the last months.
00:35And then when we also look at the data of consumption of heated tobacco products that are also available on the market,
00:42and nicotine pouches, in some regions the prevalence is very high.
00:46We see that because these products are not taxed properly in the EU, some countries are not taxing them or barely taxing,
00:54they became very accessible, and not just to adults, but to children.
01:01And that's the reason why revision of the directive is urgent now.
01:07Fifteen EU countries wrote to the Commission underlining that the current directive is insufficient.
01:12In response, the European executive reiterated intentions to tackle the long-awaited directive.
01:18The current proposal substantially raises minimum excise rates for cigarettes and cigars.
01:24It would also, for the first time, target e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches and heated tobacco,
01:29with a focus on suppressing the youth market.
01:32However, the sector opposed this reasoning.
01:35A tax will not help in this case, because the tax will make the products more attractive for black market dealers.
01:44And these kind of people and businesses don't care about protecting the miners.
01:50So we think that, or we see in the Member States where we already have high tax in place,
01:56that it's fueling the black market, and therefore the protection of the consumers and of course of the miners,
02:03is not better than in other countries.
02:07Lobby groups also argued e-cigarettes are key tools to stop smoking.
02:11But some health experts warned caution is needed, as the long-term risks of e-cigarettes are not yet clear.
02:17Meanwhile, the proposal requires unanimity, which seems a long way off.
02:22Countries like Italy, Greece and Romania, who are tobacco producers and invested in alternatives,
02:27are lobbying against it.
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