In the Middle East, the vapers of the Kingdom of Bahrain are angry and there is something. Indeed, the country's authorities have once again attacked the e-cigarette by including e-liquids in the tobacco tax, doubling the price of all new imports.
A 100% TAX ON E-LIQUIDS, AN ECONOMIC DISASTER!
The Kingdom of Bahrain's “vaping community” is angry! On July 12, without making an official announcement, the government decided to classify e-liquids as tobacco products and impose a 100% tax on all imports.
For sellers and consumers this decision does not make sense because e-liquids do not contain tobacco. They warn that these very high prices could push former smokers to return to smoking.
« It makes no sense to add so much tax to the wholesale price of e-liquids which in addition are now classified as tobacco products." , said Sayed Al WadeiOwner Vapeworld in Tubli.
« Most stores import over 40 different bottles of e-liquids each month, mostly in the United States, you can imagine the cost in excise tax to pay.. »He adds.
According to this seller, it is a blow to nearly 50 vape shops in Bahrain. "We all do wholesale sales especially with customers from the Gulf countries, and we employ Bahrainis", did he declare.
« With this new excise tax, which is a surprise, many will be closing their stores because it will be difficult to pass the additional costs on to consumers. »He adds.
"VAPE IS NOT TOBACCO", A HASTAG IN RESPONSE TO THIS NEW TAX
Since 2016, Sayed Al Wadei, defends the interests of vaping with a nonprofit group on Instagram called VMMQ.ME (I stopped smoking thanks to the vape). In order to respond to this government attack and this new tax, the hashtag #BAHRAIN_VAPE_IS_NOT_TOBACCO has appeared on social networks.
Bahrain's government decision to mix vaping products with tobacco is clearly seen as a step back in the war against smoking.
Hussain Zaimoor, which has two outlets also warns that the country could lose its status as a hub for the distribution of vaping products in the region.
« First and foremost, e-liquid was reclassified as a tobacco product and an excise tax was imposed without even informing traders.“, He complained. " Many shipments have still not been claimed by traders because the tax is too high. »
« We are all concerned about the storage of these products because liquids must be kept at certain temperatures or they will spoil. »He adds.
Struggling, Mr. Zaimoor and other traders have so far refused to pass prices on to customers. " We must show some resistance because we are against any price increase or any tax on vaping products" , did he declare.
