Growing up in Ireland, people were always sceptical about politicians. While Charles Haughey was before my time, I remember Pádraig Flynn, Liam Lawlor, Ray Burke and the sort of corruption that is synonymous with them all.
That contempt is still alive and well among the modern voter, but instead of thinking those in public life are dirty, most people just think the Dáil is full of rank incompetence.
And why shouldn’t they? As the Budget was announced yesterday, one has to wonder: what the hell is the plan here to deal with high smoking rates?
What Ireland’s 2027 Budget means for vapers and smokers
On the 6th of October, Ireland announced its 2027 Budget. While there is a whole raft of changes, we’ll stick to what is relevant to these pages, which are:
A €1 increase on a pack of 20 cigarettes, effective straight away. A typical pack will go from around €19.50 to €20.50.
E-liquid excise rises from €0.50 to €0.70 per ml, excluding VAT. This also applies to nicotine-free juice. That translates to a €2.46 price rise (incl. VAT) for a 10ml bottle, starting January 2027.
No new excise tax announced on tobacco-free nicotine pouches.
Cigarettes are insanely expensive in Ireland, and this new excise means almost 80% of the price goes on tax. It’s no surprise that Revenue’s latest survey estimates that 28% of cigarettes consumed in Ireland in 2025 were illicit. Some suggest the figure is even higher.
For vapers, already dealing with runaway e-liquid pricing, this increase is a kick in the teeth. E-liquid in Ireland typically costs around €9–€11 at tax-inclusive prices, which will go up to roughly €11.50-€13.50 if retailers pass on the full additional tax.
4 big reasons why Ireland’s vaping excise increases are clueless
Here are four reasons why these price hikes are a bad decision.
#1. Cost of living
Ireland is frankly becoming unaffordable. Grim studio apartments in the city rent out for around €1,400, with demoralised natives feeling grateful to get one. Consumer prices are up almost 4% through August this year. Petrol is €1.87 a litre, electricity is up 8% this year, and a pint in a city centre pub is €8 or €9. You get the picture.
For a vaper that uses 10ml a day, these price rises could mean the habit sets them back €900 extra a year, before even thinking about devices, coils, and anything else. In other words,
#2. These tax rises disproportionately affect lower-income earners
Per Healthy Ireland, 21% of people with a Leaving Certificate or less smoked, compared with 11% of those with higher educational qualifications. Making evidence-backed products less accessible to those who smoke puts an unnecessary obstacle in front of anyone who wants to quit, which only serves to exacerbate existing health disparities.
#3. Creaking healthcare system
Published HSE figures show approximately 688,000 outpatient waiting-list entries, alongside substantial inpatient and day-case lists. For a country with an ostensibly high GDP, this is unacceptable.
Sensible healthcare policy would involve lowering the number of smokers by encouraging them to transition to lower-risk products. It wouldn’t fix the waiting lists tomorrow, but it’s the sort of long-term planning that would bear fruit down the line.
#4. Smoking rate is still too high
Ireland’s “smoke-free” target for 2025 was below 5%. Instead, it sits at around 17%. The worst part is that it’s been at that rate since 2019. It’s obvious that Ireland’s approach to tackling these problems is not working. One of the clearest reasons is that there is not enough price incentive for smokers to switch to vapes.
The gap between the relative prices of vapes and cigarettes has now shrunk even further. The gap between either product and an illicit pack of 20 (around €5-6) has grown bigger.
The government knows there is price elasticity among people who use nicotine, because they’ve tested it extensively with price increases already, but these hikes will cause some people to snap and embrace the black market.
Final thoughts
The clown show that is the Irish government continues. Their abject failure to decrease smoking rates since 2019 has been compounded by a new 10ml excise duty that makes quitting smoking for vapes less likely. Vapes don’t cost the healthcare service money. If anything, they help reduce costs. Taxing them at this rate is unacceptable because, to my mind, they shouldn’t be taxed at all.
