Vape news

A weekly plain-English round-up of UK vape news that actually matters — from official sources, no tabloid noise.

There’s a lot of vape news out there, and most of it is rubbish. Tabloid scare stories, US headlines that don’t apply here, PR releases from competitor brands trying to sound important. This page strips all that out. Every Monday we read the official sources — gov.uk, the NHS, HMRC, the MHRA, ASA rulings, Trading Standards briefings — and write up the bits that actually affect UK vapers and UK vape shops in plain English. Three to five stories a week, no clickbait, no scaremongering.

If you want to know what’s coming, what’s changed, and what it means for you, this is the page. Older round-ups stay below the current one so you can scroll back through.

Round-up — week of 11 May 2026

Three stories this week, all consequential, all already happening.

1. The Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 is now law

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026 and is now the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026. It’s the biggest change to UK tobacco and vape law in years. The headline bit — the “smoke-free generation” rolling age ban — applies only to tobacco, cigarette papers and herbal smoking products, not to vapes. Anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 will never legally be able to buy tobacco in the UK. Vapes and nicotine products remain a flat 18+, same as before.

What this means for you: if you’re an adult vaper, nothing changes about your right to buy vapes. If you’re 17 and reading this, you still can’t buy vapes anywhere in the UK, sorry. The bigger changes for the shop — advertising restrictions, new licensing, age-verification at checkout — are covered in stories 2 and 3 below. (gov.uk — Tobacco and Vapes Bill becomes law) (LGA — Tobacco and Vapes Act FAQs)

2. Vape advertising and sponsorship ban — already kicking in

Within two months of Royal Assent (so by the end of June 2026), a UK-wide ban on advertising and sponsorship of vapes, nicotine pouches, heated tobacco and similar products comes into force. The ban covers all media: posters, online ads, social media, influencer marketing, digital banners, emails, SMS, sponsorship deals, branded displays. Retailers can still list products on their own websites for sale — that’s allowed — but they can’t promote them in a way that’s deemed to encourage uptake, especially anything that could appeal to under-18s.

What this means for you: probably nothing visible. You’ll see fewer billboards and fewer vape ads on social media. For us as a shop, it means a quiet audit of how we present products on the site and in any marketing emails — listing is fine, promoting is restricted. (ASA — Tobacco Advertising: Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026)

3. Vape duty starts 1 October 2026 — 22p per ml

HMRC’s new Vaping Products Duty (VPD) starts on 1 October 2026. It’s a flat rate of £2.20 per 10ml of e-liquid (22p per ml), applied regardless of nicotine strength or whether the liquid contains nicotine at all. VAT (20%) is charged on top. To put that in real money: one of our £2.50 10ml bottles will rise to around £5.14 at the till once duty and the VAT on that duty are added in. A 100ml shortfill will carry £22 of duty before VAT. These are not small numbers.

What this means for you: prices on every e-liquid product will rise from 1 October. There’s a six-month transitional period for stock made or imported before that date. We’ll write more about the practical impact closer to the time, including any stock-up advice that makes sense for regular customers. (gov.uk — Prepare for Vaping Products Duty)