Liquid tax on e-cigarettes in Switzerland

With the introduction of the new Tobacco Products Act, taxes will be levied on e-cigarettes and e-liquids in Switzerland. From October 1, 2024, the following taxes will be levied on all imported products

The new liquid tax at a glance

With the new taxation of e-liquids, disposable vapes in particular will become significantly more expensive, but large price increases are also to be expected for most other e-cigarette products. We show you how high the liquid tax will be in Switzerland for the following product categories:

Disposable e-cigarettes

CHF 1.-/ml liquid (with and without nicotine)

Prefilled Pods

CHF 0.20/ml Liquid (only with nicotine)

E-liquids

CHF 0.20/ml Liquid (only with nicotine)

Hybrid vapes

CHF 0.20/ml Liquid (only with nicotine)

When will e-cigarette prices for end consumers be increased?

The new liquid tax for e-cigarettes will be levied on all newly imported products from October 1, 2024. Many retailers stocked up on tax-free products before the law was introduced. Once these stocks have been used up, the end consumer prices will be increased by the respective tax amount.

Why are taxes levied on e-cigarettes?

Considering that there are still no scientific studies proving that e-cigarettes pose a health risk, the question arises as to why these products are taxed by the state at all. As in many other areas, Switzerland is aligning its legislation with that of the European Union (Tobacco Products Directive), where taxes have been levied on e-cigarettes for years. The federal government obviously has a great interest in filling the state coffers with additional tax revenue. As only a small percentage of the Swiss population consumes e-cigarettes, the new law was pushed through with little opposition.

The situation with alcohol is completely different. As the majority of the population consumes alcohol, taxation in Switzerland is still extremely low, although it has been proven that the products cause great harm to society and are a heavy burden on the state coffers.

Looking to the future: will the liquid tax be continuously increased?

It can be assumed that the liquid tax will also be continuously increased in Switzerland. Just as with tobacco cigarettes, there are likely to be further price increases at annual intervals. In the European Union, too, the liquid tax is increased every year. The following is a comparison of the planned liquid tax increase for the next few years in Germany:

Liquidity tax in a European comparison

In many countries of the European Union, a tax is also levied on e-liquids. In Germany, for example, this currently amounts to 20 cents per milliliter. In contrast to Switzerland, however, the tax in Germany is also levied on nicotine-free products such as bases and flavors. However, only 20 cents per milliliter is charged on disposable products in Germany, whereas in Switzerland the new law means that CHF 1 / ml is due.

Conclusion

Our aim is to offer smokers of tobacco cigarettes a less harmful alternative in the form of e-cigarettes. Every year, more than 9,000 people in Switzerland die as a result of tobacco consumption. It is therefore extremely important that e-cigarettes continue to be significantly cheaper and more attractive than tobacco cigarettes in the future. It is unacceptable for an extremely harmful product to eventually become as expensive as the significantly less harmful alternative due to regulatory intervention.

Taxing disposable e-cigarettes five times more heavily will promote more environmentally friendly reusable systems. This will curb the major waste problem associated with this category of device, which is to be welcomed in principle.

Further information on the new Tobacco Products Act can be found in our detailed blog post.