EU Tax Chief Reaffirms Tobacco Bill Commitment, Defends Measure

EU tax chief Wopke Hoekstra on Wednesday defended the European Commission’s tobacco tax bill, arguing that it will save lives and €6 billion ($7 billion) in healthcare costs.

“One of my priorities as Commissioner responsible for Taxation is to modernise the Tobacco Taxation Directive, and last July we set that in motion,” he said in a LinkedIn post.

He called new products like vapes and e-cigarettes “extremely harmful,” and accused tobacco companies of marketing them specifically to teenagers and children.

The European Commission in July published a bill that would more than double minimum excise rates on cigarettes ...