Tobacco and vape tax increase welcomed by health charity

It was announced the following changes will be made:

Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said, “Continued tobacco tax rises are necessary to encourage smokers to quit and reduce the burden of smoking on public finances and the economy in the future.”

“The vape tax aligns with recommendations we made to government regarding the importance of an excise tax and the necessity of it being a flat rate.”

She added, “An excise tax on vapes will reduce access to cheap products for children by both reducing affordability and creating more powers to tackle illegal imports. Border Force and HMRC have been central to the reductions in the illicit tobacco market and will be able now to play the same role on vapes.