The Dutch government has said it will leave the issue of taxing e-cigarettes and vapes up to the new administration after the November election, reports DutchNews.  

According to Telegraaf newspaper, the Netherlands will wait until the EU gives a green light before starting to tax e-cigarettes, which could take several years. This news comes after concerns about youth vaping are mounting with one in five youths saying they had used an e-cigarette in the past year.
Internet sales have gone up dramatically and the fact that vaping is cheaper than traditional cigarettes has also played a role in the surge of young vapers.
Junior health minister Maarten van Ooijen told the Telegraaf that he would encourage the next cabinet to bring in a “national tax on e-cigarettes”.
Van Ooijen said that the outgoing cabinet has focused on banning flavoured liquids and online sales instead of addressing the real problem. “We need to take action against vapes as soon as possible to protect our children, as other EU countries have done,” he said.
Van Ooijen also went on to say it would be “in the interests of public health” if the next government looked into national options for a “user tax” rather than wait for an EU decision which is not expected to happen until 2025.