Top Takeaways:
- France’s National Assembly’s Finance Committee rejected a proposed vaping excise of up to €0.50 per 10 mL under the 2026 finance bill.
- Lawmakers cited vaping’s role in harm reduction, contrasting it with tobacco’s 75,000 annual deaths in France.
- The committee upheld a planned ban on online vape sales but voted to retain a zero tax rate through 2026.
France’s National Assembly Finance Committee rejected the government’s proposal to introduce an excise duty on e-liquids, keeping the country among the few major European markets without a national vaping tax in 2026.
The measure—originally part of Article 23 of the 2026 finance bill—would have imposed €0.30 per 10 mL on low-nicotine liquids and €0.50 per 10 mL on others, with most retail bottles costing between €5 and €7.
During committee debate, Aurélien Le Coq argued that “e-cigarettes, while not risk-free, are significantly less harmful than combustible cigarettes and serve as a cessation aid for many users.”
Pierre Cazeneuve, a fellow member of the governing Renaissance party, added personal testimony about quitting smoking, noting that vaping “helped save me from tobacco,” which remains responsible for roughly 75,000 deaths annually in France.
among youth, increasing nicotine addiction and risking neurological and respiratory health. “A modest tax makes sense,” she said, framing it as a public health measure to discourage adolescent use.
Despite those concerns, the committee voted in favor of an amendment from Droite républicaine lawmakers to keep a zero excise tax on vaping products through 2026. However, it also supported a ban on online vape sales, which remains part of the same bill.
If implemented, the ban would greatly disrupt a retail channel that accounts for an estimated 25 to 30 percent of national sales, according to French trade groups.
The full National Assembly will now review the finance bill in a plenary session, where the government might try to reintroduce the tax proposal or modify the implementation schedule.
Even without a domestic tax, France is expected to align with European standards within three years. The European Union’s revised Tobacco Excise Directive includes plans to extend a common excise to vaping liquids starting January 1, 2028.
