Vaping Laws: Your #1 Guide to Safe Vaping Abroad

In this article, we’ll be taking a look at vaping laws that govern different parts of the world and offering some tips to help you prepare for your next holiday adventure.

Diehard vapers might expect to be able to kick back and relax with their go-to vape kit on their next holiday. If you’re from a pro-vaping country like the UK, you may not even consider whether you’ll be able to vape on your next trip abroad.

Whether it’s for business or for pleasure, it’s always a good idea to read up on where you can vape and how you can get your nicotine fix, particularly before a flight, so you don’t get in trouble with authorities or cause any unwanted delays to your travel.

Before you hop on that flight, you’ll need to research the vaping laws for the area you’re travelling to and plan accordingly, with a handy backup plan just in case something goes wrong along the way.

Without further ado, let’s get you prepared for your next adventure!

Vaping at Airports

Most airports will treat vaping like they treat smoking—which is to say, they prohibit use indoors and only allow vaping in specified smoking areas. Of course, this can be counterintuitive to vapers looking to escape the smell of cigarette smoke, but we’ll need a little more visibility and acceptance toward vaping before we can get any more leeway.

There are a few airports around the world with vaping lounges, but it’s wise to look these up beforehand to see if you’ll have somewhere to vape when you pass security. Otherwise, when you step inside the airport, expect to not be able to vape for the duration of your travel—at least until you reach the exit of your destination airport.

Many airports, in the light of COVID-19, have closed their smoking areas (both indoor and outdoor) until further notice. It’s best to contact the airport directly ahead of time with any questions regarding vaping in or around the airport.

If you’re feeling daunted by the thought of going several hours without your trusty vape, we highly recommend you consider bringing a discreet vapour-free alternative along for the ride, like nicotine pouches. Nic pouches can be brought with you and used at the airport and during your flight—and best of all, they’re 100% tobacco-free, just like vapes. You can read more about the benefits ahead of your next flight in our beginners guide to nicotine pouches.

Should your vape go in your carry-on or in your checked luggage?

Vape kits and accompanying E-Liquids should always go in your carry-on and never in your checked luggage. E-Liquids cannot exceed 100ml and must be placed in a clear plastic bag to be checked at security, just as other liquids are. In addition, most airlines request that you keep your vape kit powered off for the duration of your flight.

As of 2017, there is a worldwide ban on packing vape batteries in your checked luggage. This is for a variety of reasons, chief among them being that the batteries could leak or explode and cause a potentially catastrophic accident in the inaccessible cargo hold area of the plane.

In a world of heightened security and extra vigilance around air travel, it’s definitely best to follow the rules here.

If your vape uses external batteries (ones that you can remove yourself), it’s best to remove these from your device and keep them both separate in your carry-on bag. Most airlines request that any batteries you carry on board stay on your person at all times.

Most airlines that operate in the UK will allow you to take your vape on board, but prohibit their use in-flight. Interestingly, airlines have said that their reasoning is not for fear of harm from second-hand vapour (which is, as we know, not harmful)—it’s more to prevent confusing other passengers and encouraging cigarette smokers to light up in retaliation.

For a mid-flight nicotine fix, we highly recommend trying Lost Mary Airplane Mode nicotine pouches, which are perfectly legal to use on flights since they produce no smell or vapour (and obviously, no smoke). Because they don’t use any batteries or hardware, nicotine pouches are a simple and effective option to help satiate your nicotine cravings mid-flight.

You’ll thank us when you’re sitting comfortably, pouch in place, while all the smokers onboard are too jittery from nicotine withdrawal to sit still.

Tips for Vaping Abroad

#1: Pack Enough to Get You Through Your Trip, and Then Some

It’s not the best idea when travelling to plan on purchasing your vape products in another country. For one, regulations on the ingredients and manufacturing processes vary from country to country, so you may not be able to ascertain whether the products you buy abroad are safe or regulated.

And because vaping laws can change quickly, it’s important to plan ahead and pack what you’ll need, and then some.

If you take medication regularly, you’re told when travelling to pack enough for the length of your trip, plus a few days extra in case of delays or issues. You should consider your nicotine similarly; going without it can cause withdrawal symptoms, which may lead you to buy cigarettes (yuck), which will undoubtedly be available for purchase in your destination country given their worldwide prevalence.

#3: Pack a Backup

Even with a load of preparation and research beforehand, there’s a chance something will go awry in transit or in the foreign country you’re travelling to. For example, you could be stopped at the airport simply for carrying a device with a battery. Or something could happen to your vape kit or your E-Liquid bottles in your luggage.

You’ll need to plan for a no-vaping scenario, regardless of where you’re going.

If you don’t pack a backup nicotine delivery system, you might be tempted to buy a pack of cigarettes instead—as those are still legal and widely available for sale in most (if not all) countries around the world.

We recommend ensuring that you pack a backup, like nicotine pouches—designed specifically for discreet on-the-go use—or ensure that vapes are widely available for purchase in your destination country before travelling.

Vaping Around the World

If you want to vape in your destination country, you’ll need to ensure that you’re travelling somewhere that not only allows vaping as an activity, but also allows the sale and import of vape kits, E-Liquids, and the rest.

In short, vaping legislation is a complex, thorny topic, both on a worldwide scale and on a region-by-region basis, in some countries. So, if you’re thinking of going somewhere where you’re unfamiliar with (or flat-out unaware of) the vaping laws, here’s our handy guide to the legislation governing vaping across the globe!

Vaping Laws in the UK

Right now, about 6% of the UK’s adult population—that’s about 2.7 million people—are regular vapers. This number has gone up in recent years, while the number of smokers in the UK is on a steady decline.

The UK, while maintaining strict regulations on the manufacturing and sales of tobacco-related products through government bodies and legislation, is one of the few pro-vaping countries in the world, with health charities like Cancer Research UK, the National Health Service, and even the London Fire Brigade now promoting the use of vaping products over traditional cigarettes.

Vaping laws in the UK are more concerned with the regulation of the vape products themselves than they are with the activity of vaping. Currently, there are no legal restrictions on vaping in public spaces, including indoor settings, though most places have their own rules about where you can and can’t vape, such as hospitals and public transit hubs. Furthermore, a lot of places group smoking and vaping together, so wherever you can’t smoke, you likely can’t vape—but this varies from establishment to establishment.

Thus, if you’re travelling to the UK, you’ll be able to vape in most public outdoor spaces, except in places where smoking is prohibited—but again, this varies, as there are no current laws restricting vaping in public.

Vaping Laws in the EU

Generally speaking, in the 27 countries that make up the European Union, vaping and smoking are considered similar in terms of social responsibility. Currently, around 2% of the population in the EU vapes regularly.

In recent years, public attitudes toward vaping in the EU have been trending toward the negative, with more people each year believing that vaping is as bad or worse for you than smoking cigarettes, even while publicly-funded evidence continues to support the contrary.

As it stands, vaping laws in the EU are similar to smoking laws, meaning where you can smoke, you can vape, and where you can’t smoke… you get the picture.

Exceptions to this rule lie outside of the EU in other parts of Europe.

Vaping Laws in North America

The US

One of the largest and fastest-growing vape markets in the world is in the US, where around 3.6% of the adult population vapes regularly. In the US, vaping products are not regulated as strictly or as consistently as they are in places like the UK. And because of the federal-versus-state legal system in the US, vaping laws vary from state to state.

For instance, some states in the US allow the sale of vape products to people aged 18 or over, while other states have raised the legal “vaping age” to 21. So, if you’re under 21 and travelling to the US, we recommend that you both check the laws for the state you’re visiting, and also pack enough E-Liquids, coils, and other vape accessories to make it through your trip. Some states have banned online sales of vape products, while others have banned the sale of flavoured E-Liquids altogether.

Generally speaking, vaping (as an activity) is grouped with smoking, so, as with the EU, you can vape wherever you’re allowed to smoke. Again, this can vary on a state level.

Canada

In a Canadian study in 2017, evidence showed that roughly 3% of the population had used a vape device in the past 30 days.

The Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) works closely with its counterpart in the US, the American Vaping Association (AVA), and as such, vaping laws in Canada are similar to those in the US. Federally, the minimum purchase age is 18, with provinces able to set individual restrictions or higher age limits as they see fit.

If you’re travelling with your vape to Canada, we similarly recommend researching the province ahead of time and packing enough materials to get you through your trip, just in case vape products are scarce in the area you’re visiting.

Mexico

In Mexico, around 1.1% of the adult population vapes regularly. Overall, Mexico has the lowest smoking rate among the entire North American continent, so it’s not surprising to learn that only around 1% of the population vapes regularly.

As of February 2020, it’s legal to vape in the country, but illegal to import any vape products. Still, even with the ban on imports, there appears to be a thriving vaping community in Mexico, and illegal “black market” sales of vape products do happen.

This could mean trouble at the border for travellers—however, as Mexico is a popular vacation destination, seizing vapes from incoming visitors would likely disrupt their tourism industry.

If you’re a vaper travelling to Mexico, we recommend not bringing your favourite, most expensive vape kit with you. Rather, it’s probably a better idea to bring something you’re comfortable parting with, just in case it gets confiscated—like a disposable vape or an inexpensive pod kit.

Vaping Laws in South America

In much of South America, including Argentina, Panama, and Brazil, vaping is banned entirely, while in other places, it’s illegal to sell and/or import vaping products. These bans pose definite risks and obstacles for travelling vapers who simply want to bring their kit with them on holiday.

As with everywhere else, if you’re travelling to any countries in South America, we recommend you research your destination’s vaping laws before your flight takes off so you don’t inadvertently get your valuables confiscated—or, worse, get fined or arrested for breaking local laws.

Vaping Laws in Asia

As much as 95% of all vape hardware from major vaping hardware brands and independent businesses combined is manufactured in the Chinese city of Shenzhen.

Ironically enough, though, despite having such a concentrated vape hardware industry, vaping as an activity is hardly booming in China. China’s millennials are more relaxed and open about vaping than the rest of the population is, but most people hold a cautious attitude toward vaping, despite the fact that over 300 million people in China smoke cigarettes.

Vaping laws are fairly lenient in China, given their mass production of vape materials and the prevalence of smoking.

But across much of the rest of the continent, it’s a different story: in Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, Dubai, Cambodia, East Timor, and India, vaping is banned, and the consequences for possession can be very drastic in some areas—including up to 2 years in prison in Hong Kong and up to 10 years in prison in Taiwan.

In Japan, vape products with nicotine are banned unless they’re registered as medicinal products, while nicotine-free vapes are legal to buy and use for both adults and minors.

In contrast, some Middle Eastern countries look more favourably upon vaping than their far-eastern counterparts do, perhaps due to their bustling 21st-century commercial economies and retail industries. Generally speaking, the further west you travel on the Asian continent, the more vapers there are among the populaces (and therefore the laxer the vaping laws will be).

Asia is a big place with a vast array of different cultures and customs, so it’s difficult to outline all of the vaping laws here.  If you’re a vaper travelling to any country in Asia, we recommend investigating yourself ahead of time, which means researching the vaping laws for the specific region or country you’re travelling to and planning accordingly.

Vaping Laws in Oceania

In Australia, every form of nicotine, except for replacement therapies and, most notably, cigarettes, is classified as a form of poison. Because of this, vaping hardware is unregulated in Australia, but the sale of E-Liquids is banned unless you have a prescription from a doctor. This also means that the import of nicotine-containing E-Liquids is illegal, with a possible fine for possession of up to $222,000 AUD.

Meanwhile, in New Zealand, vaping is legal, including the use and sale of nicotine-containing E-Liquids. The restrictions on where you can vape in New Zealand are similar to those on tobacco use, meaning no vaping in indoor public spaces or on public transit, subject to a few exceptions.

As for the rest of the region, Oceania’s vaping laws (outside of Australia & New Zealand) are vague or non-existent, and the prevalence of vaping among these regions is currently unknown.

Vaping Laws in Africa

Given the disparate state of politics on the continent, it’s likely no surprise to learn that vaping laws in the region vary significantly from country to country, and even from area to area.

In places like Kenya, for example, there isn’t a lick of regulation on the sale, production, use, or even advertising of vaping products. Meanwhile, in Uganda, there’s a law banning any use, import, sale, or manufacture of vape products—and bringing any into the country is a criminal offence.

When it comes to vaping laws in Africa, it’s best to check the legislation for your destination country ahead of time to avoid possibly breaking the law. Tobacco Control Laws has a handy index detailing the laws in most countries, including the laws concerning E-Cigarettes.

Conclusion: Vape Safe & Travel Smart

Before your flight, cruise, train, or coach takes off, you should absolutely check ahead of time that it’s legal to both vape and to bring vape products into your destination country. You can check individual country information on the Tobacco Control Laws website.

Above all, travelling vapers need to be aware of vaping laws, and must also plan accordingly. That means packing a backup nicotine delivery system and packing enough vape juice to get you through your journey.

These laws are constantly changing, with new legislation being both threatened and promised on a regular basis. It’s up to you as the responsible vaper to do your research and travel smart.

We truly hope you get to vape on the beach at sunset!