The UAE government is to introduce a minimum price at which liquids used in vapes and electronic cigarettes will be subject to its “sin tax” rules.
The Ministry of Finance on Thursday set the minimum excise price for the items at Dh1 per millilitre, under measures which will come into effect on September 1.
This excise price represents the minimum value that will be used when calculating the due tax.
If the retail price falls below this excise price, the tax will still be calculated at the minimum value.
The decision means that even liquids which are sold at prices which equate to less than Dh1 per millilitre will be taxed at this minimum figure.
Under the update, vape liquid priced at Dh40 for a 60ml bottle, for example, would be taxed as if it were priced at Dh60.
“The decision aims to enhance the effectiveness of excise tax implementation and support compliance with the UAE’s tax legislation,” the ministry said.
Tax plan aims to boost health
Vaping and e-cigarette liquids are among a number of tobacco and smoking-related products subject to a 100 per cent excise tax – widely known as a sin tax.
The ministry said existing excise prices for cigarettes, water pipe tobacco and ready-to-use tobacco products would remain unchanged.
UAE's 'sin tax' strategy
The UAE introduced excise taxes – widely known as sin taxes – on a variety of products deemed to be harmful to public health in 2017, including smoking products and high-sugar beverages, before expanding the programme two years later.
The government said at the time that the move was intended to “reduce consumption of harmful goods, prevent chronic illnesses linked to sugar and tobacco and help consumers make sensible healthy choices”.
A global study carried out in 2024 found three quarters of smokers believed vaping was at least as harmful to their health as cigarettes.
The poll of 26,950 tobacco users in 28 countries, conducted by industry analysts Ipsos, aimed to explore views on e-cigarettes as a potentially safer alternative to traditional forms of smoking.
Dr Hassan Razein, a pulmonologist at Zulekha Hospital Dubai, told The National at the time that smoking and vaping should be viewed as equally detrimental to health.
“We already knew smoking cigarettes, nicotine and tobacco were dangerous,” he said. “But it was clear we needed to know more about the full profile of vaping and the hazards.
The Ministry of Finance and the Federal Tax Authority bolstered the strategy by introducing a new pricing system for drinks on January 1.
The new policy directly linked the tax rate to the level of sugar content per 100ml, marking an evolution from the flat-rate tax on soft drinks introduced in 2017.
