Written question asked by Mike Wood (Conservative) on Friday, 28 August 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 2 September 2026. It was answered by James Murray (Labour) on Tuesday, 8 September 2026 on behalf of the Treasury.

Electronic Cigarettes: Excise Duties

Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to HMRC's external research programme 2026 to 2027, updated July 2026 and published August 2026, reference 2627CCG01, the Tobacco Tax Gap: Improving Tax Gap Statistics Through Wastewater Analysis, how will nicotine consumption from vaping will be measured in the study, and whether it will be differentiated from cigarette use.

Answer

HMRC's proposed research will use wastewater analysis to improve understanding of tobacco consumption and support the development of tobacco tax gap estimates. The methodology will distinguish between tobacco and nicotine consumption by analysing different chemical metabolites present in wastewater samples.

Specifically, tobacco consumption will be measured using the metabolites anabasine and anatabine, while nicotine consumption will be measured using cotinine and its metabolite 3-hydroxycotinine.

The research is designed to measure tobacco consumption and nicotine consumption separately. It is not intended to measure cigarette use or vaping use specifically and therefore does not directly differentiate between those products. The findings will be used to support HMRC's understanding of the tobacco tax gap.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 21040
Session: 2026-27
Related items: Electronic Cigarettes: Excise Duties
Wednesday, 14 October 2026
Written questions
House of Commons; Tobacco: Excise Duties
Monday, 19 October 2026
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects: Excise duties Research Electronic cigarettes
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk

Electronic Cigarettes: Excise Duties

Secondary information

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