Italians electronic cigarette companies are saying a new levy that has doubled the cost of e-liquid refills is unfairly helping big tobacco giants like Philip Morris International and is hurting the ecig industry as a result.

This new tax which began in January 2015 is set at half the tax currently on analog or tradition cigarettes is causing controversy as it also applies to the products being produced by the big tobacco firms such as Marlborough HeatSticks which actually contain tobacco. These heatsticks have not yet been tested to the same degree that electronic cigarettes have and the e-cig companies believe it has unfairly gained an advantage by being considered part of the same group of products when it is in fact not.

Italy is one of the first countries to begin taxing ecigs, the EU is considering the idea on a wider scale. The majority of scientists agree that whilst not perfect ecigs are probably safer than traditional cigarettes.

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