Sir, – The excise proposals for vapes and e-liquids announced as part of Budget 2025 are a welcome move from the Government. BAT Ireland believes that an excise framework for vapes and e-liquids could substantially improve the monitoring and controls over the market.
The widespread availability of black market vapes is also likely a major contributor to vapes getting into the hands of under-18s, with bad actors profiting from underage sales. The Government has indicated that it might consider this once a vape excise regime is in place. This would be a welcome step alongside last December’s long-awaited legislation to ban the sale of vapes to under-18s.
Crucially, this licence could then be revoked if they are found to be selling non-compliant product or selling to underage customers.