Morocco to Impose 40% Tax on E-Cigarettes, Sparking Industry Concerns

"We are in shock. This will have a big impact on the future of e-cigarettes. The future is uncertain for e-cigarettes in Morocco. Economically, it’s going to be very tough. Many will lose a lot. The e-cigarette will surely become a luxury item for some people, not for everyone," confides to H24 Info a merchant of e-cigarettes in the Maarif district of Casablanca. If the measure is applied, it will lead to an increase in the current retail price of the e-cigarette from 300 dirhams, she specifies.

The Finance Committee within the House of Representatives has adopted an amendment to the 2023 Finance Bill (PLF-2023) providing for this increase in import duties on e-cigarettes from 2.5 to 40%. Merchants are not sure they can withstand this "huge increase". "We don’t know if it will be applied to the equipment, the resistors, the liquids... We are waiting for early January to see what will happen, but I believe it’s the end," declares a manager of E-vap.

For another merchant, "it’s the coup de grace". "I think the consumer will have a hard time following. They didn’t increase the same way for cigarettes. If they wanted to save the Moroccans, they would have increased them by 40% too, because in terms of health risk, it’s incomparable. All studies show that e-cigarettes are 95 to 98% less harmful than traditional cigarettes. Some mutual insurance companies in Europe even reimburse it," he explains.

Reda Mhasni, a psychologist and addiction specialist, considers it "exaggerated" to consider the e-cigarette as a "therapeutic solution". "In my humble opinion, the e-cigarette is still an addiction," emphasizes the specialist, who believes that this measure to increase import duties "will absolutely not reduce the consumption" of cigarettes by citizens, especially the young. And he concludes: "The State must support the citizen caught in the meshes of addiction with solutions to get out of it, and not take his money."