UK Tobacco and Vapes Bill 2024 Announced
The Labour government has announced the reintroduction of the previously shelved Tobacco and Vapes Bill. Let’s take a look at how this will impact vapers and the sector moving forward.
On Tuesday 5 November 2024, the UK government announced the reintroduction of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which was initially introduced by Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government in March of 2024 but was shelved in light of the election.
However, Sir Keir Starmer’s government pledged to revive the bill, albeit with some amendments. Now, we get to see the new version of the bill and how it will affect the vaping and tobacco landscape for years (and perhaps generations) to come.
Tobacco and Vapes Bill Overview
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will prevent children under the age of 15 from ever being able to purchase tobacco products, which will in effect create a smokefree generation—as the government says, “breaking the cycle of addiction and disadvantage.”
Separately, the government has already confirmed a disposable vape ban which will come into effect on 1 June 2025 banning the sale of all single-use vapes in England.
And last week, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in her Budget a new vaping tax on E-Liquids from October 2026, which will cost vapers £2.20 for every 10ml of E-Liquid they buy, meaning that vapers who use larger bottles (like shortfills) will see the steepest rise in cost.
While separate from the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, these pieces of legislation combine with the new bill to create a monolith of legislation surrounding the sale, promotion, and even the content of vaping products.
Some parts of this legislation are welcome. We’re thrilled to hear that the next generation of the UK’s youth won’t ever be able to smoke. We’re also glad to hear about the extended outdoor smoking ban, as well as the on-the-spot fines and tougher action and enforcement on rogue vape retailers.
But there is a lot at stake here, and much of the bill leaves details for vapers unclear.
What does the Tobacco and Vapes Bill say about vaping?
Let’s dissect the somewhat unclear messaging the government gave in its press release about how this bill is going to affect the vaping landscape.
Vape Advertising and Sponsorship
One thing that is made quite clear in the government’s press release is that there will be a ban on vape advertising and sponsorship.
Notably, there are already strict advertising rules in place for vaping laid out by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) and Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP). Vape products can only be advertised in outdoor settings, such as on the sides of buses and at bus stops. There are very few exceptions to this.
Vapes can’t be advertised in print media—including mailers, magazines, or newspapers. They can’t be advertised digitally, either—Google ads, Facebook and Instagram ads, and even SMS marketing are banned already.
The advertising guidelines laid out by the ASA and CAP state:
“E-cigarette ads are prohibited in any online media where the content is actively shared to users who have not specifically sought it out.”
This means that there are exceptions for users who have opted in to online marketing, like those who sign up for newsletters.
We don’t see this complete ban on vape advertising and sponsorship having a dire impact on the vaping sector, since much of vape advertising is already limited and regulated by the ASA and CAP.
Vape Display and Packaging
Onto the foggier areas of the press release.
The bill will give the government “powers to restrict the display and packaging of all types of vapes.” This is something that the industry saw coming for months, if not longer.
Many parents fear that the bright, colourful packaging of vape products is luring their children to the dark side. They feel that this, combined with the “kid-friendly” flavour names and easy access on off-licence shelves is making vaping easily accessible to minors.
Of course, we’ll blame the packaging and not the sellers who don’t check IDs.
Regardless, the limitations on display and packaging are unlikely to have a huge impact on adult consumers. Research has shown that youths are more influenced by branding and packaging than adults are when it comes to choosing a vape kit, so standardising packaging across the board is unlikely to prevent adults from making the switch.
What will, however, affect adults’ decisions is if the government opts for a similar colour scheme to that of tobacco products—Pantone 448 C, which my dad aptly refers to as “cancer brown.”
We need to be careful not to align vaping with smoking. It needs to be abundantly clear that vaping is the lower-risk product, especially given that an alarming number of people wrongly believe that vaping is as dangerous—or more so—than smoking. This is the issue with all of these regulations; they only fuel the misinformation dumpster fire.
Hiding vapes away alongside tobacco behind the counter and introducing plain packaging may seem like logical steps when faced with a youth epidemic, but it’s important to consider the impression this will have on would-be adult vapers—a.k.a. smokers.
Restricting Vape Flavours
Further to the vague “new powers” sentiment from the press release, the government has also granted itself the ability to restrict vape flavours. What this might entail is still yet to be seen, though we will likely glean more in the coming months.
I’ve written about this at length in the past. Flavour bans are arbitrary, create black markets, and will only serve to push smokers away from vaping. Frankly, I’m tired of this argument. But for the sake of public awareness, I’ll go through it again.
First and foremost, we don’t know what flavours the government intends to ban. One of the following options seems likely:
- All flavours except tobacco
- All flavours except tobacco and menthol
- All flavours except tobacco, menthol, and fruit*
*We don’t know what could possibly be meant by “fruit,” though this was suggested by the previous Conservative government. Will candied, artificial fruit flavours, like the much-loved Watermelon Ice flavour, be included? What about mixed fruit flavours which give the impression of a handful of rainbow sweets? Or fruit flavours with an added “sour” touch?
Is your blue raspberry flavour safe given that it’s not a real fruit? Only time will tell.
Now, we’ve seen what happens when flavours are banned. It happened in Australia, and it’s happening in numerous states across the US with flavour bans: if vapers can’t get what they need through legal means, they’ll find unscrupulous retailers to source their goods, or they’ll go back to smoking cigarettes.
So says the influx of banned Chinese-imported vapes across the globe—notably in the aforementioned US states and Australia—where vapers can get the vapes they crave online and in person as easily as they could before. There are too many sellers to police, and too little funding to police them.
The problem with this is multifactorial, but chiefly, when you buy black-market vapes, you don’t know what’s in them, and they defeat the very purpose of the government’s proposed tax on vaping. It’s not like black-market sellers are paying tax, eh?
Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, smokers need flavours to quit smoking. Research has found that smokers who use “sweet” flavoured vapes (like fruit or candy flavours) are immensely more likely to give up smoking than those who use tobacco- or menthol-flavoured vapes.
Banning flavours will only serve to prevent more smokers from making the switch to vaping.
This is so hard to process given that the UK is a world leader in tobacco harm reduction. Vaping is promoted by the NHS and Public Health England, with some of the world’s leading vape research conducted here, and the UK has some of the tightest regulations surrounding vaping products in the world.
When you vape in the UK (and you get your vapes from a reputable retailer like ourselves), you know exactly what you’re putting into your body. You know your E-Liquid has been tested and quality-assured.
A flavour ban would put all of that progress we have here at risk.
Outdoor Vaping Ban
Under the new Tobacco and Vapes Bill, vaping could be banned in some outdoor settings, including outside of schools and at playgrounds, and possibly outside of hospitals.
The press release states: “Subject to consultation, the government is considering extending restrictions in places that are currently smoke-free to also become vape-free, especially in areas where there are children and young adults.”
Much to the relief of the hospitality industry, the government has rolled back on its proposal to ban smoking (and possibly vaping) in outdoor pub gardens.
Of course, as it stands, vaping is already typically banned wherever smoking is banned, and most places have the ability to limit where smoking and vaping are allowed. Vaping is already outlawed in indoor public spaces and in some outdoor areas like train platforms.
The government hopes that this ban on vaping in “youth-centric” outdoor areas will limit children’s exposure to vapes and prevent young people from becoming hooked on nicotine.
Vape Licensing Scheme
Perhaps the most exciting piece of this legislation for the vaping industry is the part we’ve been asking for all along: a licensing scheme for retailers.
Here’s what the press release says:
“The bill will also include powers to introduce a licensing scheme for retailers to sell tobacco, vape and nicotine products in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. […] These measures will protect law abiding businesses and tackle illicit products from being sold.”
In response, the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA), who initially proposed the vape licensing scheme framework, issued a letter to Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
The letter states: “As you will be aware, the legitimate vaping industry has long advocated for the creation of a licensing scheme for retailers and distributors, and we are delighted that vape licensing is now firmly on the policy agenda. This development will enable youth and illicit vaping to be addressed, allowing the industry’s focus to remain on supporting adult smokers in quitting.”
The Government has today announced it has included powers to introduce a licensing scheme for retailers to sell tobacco, vape and nicotine products in England, Wales and Northern Ireland as part of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
— UKVIA (@Vaping_Industry) November 5, 2024
The industry has long been calling for a robust and… pic.twitter.com/MiCvS1HJ4q
The general idea of the licensing scheme is that retailers will need to apply (and pay) for a licence to sell tobacco, vapes, and other nicotine products. This will ensure that only vetted, reputable retailers—those who take their legal and environmental duties seriously—will be able to sell nicotine products.
The scheme will, in turn, raise funds for policing and enforcement by Trading Standards, which is currently woefully underfunded, understaffed, and unequipped to deal with the existing issue of sales to minors and illegally imported vapes.
All in all, the industry is thrilled that this proposal is being adopted by the government. A licensing scheme will reinstate trust in legitimate retailers (like us), keep vapes out of the hands of children, and ensure that Trading Standards has the funding and capacity to enforce both the new and existing legislation.
Fines and Enforcement for Rogue Retailers
On top of the licensing scheme, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill promises tougher action and enforcement of the new and existing laws. This will be combined with on-the-spot fines of £200 for retailers who are found to be selling vapes to those who are underage.
The legitimate vaping sector—retailers who make up the foundation of the UK vaping industry—have asked for much larger fines to be imposed on these businesses. While it’s a welcome change that enforcement officers will be permitted to issue on-the-spot fines, we—as well as the majority of the industry—feel that these fines should be much higher.
Regardless, this is a welcome addition to the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
What will the Tobacco and Vapes Bill mean for vapers?
This is a lot of legal mumbo-jumbo for the average consumer. So, let’s break down the effects this will have on you, a vaper.
Plain Packaging and Fewer Displays
We’re likely to see vapes moved behind the counter like tobacco, and the packaging you’re likely to see will be simpler, less colourful, and possibly even standardised.
It remains to be seen whether the government will adopt an approach similar to tobacco, where packaging is identical across the board, or if there will instead be much stricter regulations on the colours, fonts, and imagery used while still allowing for branding and uniqueness in the packaging.
Probable Flavour Restrictions
Kiss your cola, rainbow sweets, energy drink, and sour candy flavours goodbye. Apparently, bubble gum vapes are so alluring for children that they must be banned.
While the details of the flavour restrictions have yet to be published by the UK government, we expect to see restrictions on candy- and beverage-flavoured vapes and E-Liquids—generally, anything besides tobacco, menthol, and fruits are likely to be axed. Fruit flavours could be nixed as well.
Fewer Retailers of Vaping Products
Gone are the days of the mobile phone repair and vape shop. A large number of off-licences (and perhaps even some supermarkets) will likely forgo the vape licence fee.
Instead, (we hope) dedicated vape shops will be the ones selling nicotine products. This means you’ll be buying from vape shop owners and online retailers who are strictly dedicated to vaping. Hopefully, this will put public trust back in the sector and communicate that vapes are an adults-only product.
The Vape Tax
Crucially, while separate from the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, we know that there will be a UK vaping tax imposed on E-Liquids from 1 October 2026. This was outlined in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ budget last week.
The tax will be levied on every 10ml of E-Liquid regardless of nicotine strength, meaning that vapers who typically use larger bottles (like shortfills) will see the steepest price increase.
For reference, this will mean that your average 10ml E-Liquid (priced at £2.99 today) will cost £5.19 per bottle, while your average 100ml shortfill (priced at £13.99 today) will cost a whopping £35.99.
The Disposable Vape Ban
Also separate from the Tobacco and Vapes Bill is the upcoming disposable vape ban which falls under environmental legislation.
This will see the sale and supply of all single-use vapes banned in England from 1 June 2025.
We’ve written at length about why this is a bad choice, but let’s sum it up here quickly.
First and foremost, we (and the rest of the industry) wholly agree that disposable vapes are a blight on the environment, especially given that so few users recycle their used vapes. We’re not arguing this point, nor are we arguing that they’re the premier choice for minors who vape. This much is true.
However, banning disposable vapes will not remove them from our streets, as seen in other countries like Australia and the US.
Instead, what will happen is that regulated disposables—the ones which are approved by the MHRA and sold here legally—will stop being imported, while black market vapes (primarily from China) will flood into the country illegally, unregulated and unfettered by the ban. They won’t be registered, so they’ll be untraceable, and they’ll be sold on social media and by rogue in-person, unlicensed retailers looking to make a few quid.
We know this will happen, because it already has elsewhere. It’s already happening here, too, with illegally-imported vapes available in off-licences and phone repair shops around the country.
Instead, the government should seek to stamp out the existing black market and prevent a new one from forming.
Summary
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill brings some damning new legislation along with some welcome changes to the vape landscape here in the UK.
It covers everything from how vapes are marketed to how and where they can be sold, with the promise of restrictions to vape flavours and a hefty tax to be imposed in time.
We sorely hope this changes the sector for the better, though we feel that some of these changes—like the flavour restrictions—are ill-advised. More than anything, we hope to see the number of children vaping decrease as dramatically as the number of current smokers in the UK, and we hope more and more adult smokers make the switch to this safer alternative to better their health and save money for the NHS.
As always, it doesn’t end here. If there’s something you don’t like about the Tobacco and Vapes Bill (ahem flavour bans ahem), make your voice heard. Start or sign a petition. Write to your MP. Tweet about it. Make some noise.
We’ll be here to bring you the latest updates as the situation evolves.
