Article 23 repealed: a breath of fresh air for vapers

This is news the entire French vaping industry had been eagerly awaiting. This Wednesday, January 21st, the government officially repealed article 23 of the 2026 Finance Bill, a text that had cast an unprecedented threat over vaping in France.

A ban on online sales, taxation of e-liquids, drastic restrictions on specialist shops… Article 23 would have profoundly disrupted access to vaping.
Its repeal therefore marks a true collective victory. A victory for professionals, but above all for vapers.

What this repeal concretely changes for vapers

If article 23 had been adopted, vaping would simply have been made more complicated, more expensive, and less accessible.

Today, vaping works because it is:

• accessible everywhere, online and in-store

• supported by specialist professionals

• adaptable to everyone's needs

Banning online sales meant depriving thousands of vapers of easy access to their products.
Taxing e-liquids meant making vaping less attractive than cigarettes.
Undermining vape shops meant breaking an essential link in the smoking cessation chain.

The good news? None of that will happen.

A decision in line with the reality of vapers

The numbers speak for themselves.

An OpinionWay survey conducted for FIVAPE shows that:

• 66% of vapers have quit or reduced their tobacco consumption thanks to vaping

• 58% shop at specialist stores

• 31% use online sales, often in addition to vape shops

In short: vaping works because it relies on the diversity of channels and freedom of choice.

By repealing article 23, the government avoids a well-known scenario seen elsewhere: a return to cigarettes and
the explosion of the black market

According to the same survey, nearly a quarter of vapers would have returned to tobacco if the measures had been too restrictive.
Which is to say that the repeal of article 23 is also good news for public health.

Vaping, a proven tool

This decision is in line with the most recent scientific data.

The Cochrane review published in March 2025 confirms that:

• the e-cigarette is one of the most effective tools for quitting smoking

• it works better than traditional nicotine replacement therapies

• it helps more smokers quit tobacco for good

In other words, making vaping more accessible means making it easier to quit tobacco.

Repealing article 23 means acknowledging, at least partially, this reality.

A victory for the French industry

Vaping is not just a product.
It is a dynamic French industry, made up of manufacturers, distributors, independent shops, and thousands of jobs.

Article 23 directly threatened this ecosystem by equating vaping with tobacco.
Its repeal makes it possible:

• to preserve specialist shops

• to maintain a regulated, controlled, and responsible offering

• to support a local, non-relocatable economy

This is a victory for independent vaping, the kind that supports smokers every day.

Thank you, vapers: this victory is yours too

None of this would have been possible without the mobilization of vapers.

The petition "Vaping is not smoking. A letter to our elected representatives " gathered more than 250,000 signatures in just three months.
A clear, powerful message that was impossible to ignore.

This mobilization was a reminder of one essential thing:
-> vaping is not a problem,
-> it is part of the solution.

So thank you to all those who mobilized, shared, signed, and explained.

What's next? Moving forward together

Yes, this victory deserves to be celebrated.
But it also reminds us that nothing is ever permanently secured.

Discussions are still ongoing at the European level, particularly regarding the taxation of e-liquids.
And in several countries, vaping is already overtaxed, stripped of flavors, or banned from online sales.

This episode makes it clear:

• vaping is still poorly understood
• it can too quickly become an ideological debate

It is up to us to continue to inform, explain, and advocate for responsible vaping.

A victory, a milestone, an ambition

The repeal of article 23 is excellent news.
For vapers.
For professionals.
For public health.

Let's celebrate this milestone.
And let's continue, together, to make vaping the number one choice for French people to quit smoking.

Because accessible, regulated, and well-understood vaping means fewer cigarettes, and more freedom of choice.