With lower than a yr till the UK’s new Vaping Merchandise Responsibility (VPD) and Vaping Responsibility Stamps (VDS) come into impact on 1 October 2026, the federal government is embarking on some of the consequential regulatory adjustments in current UK nicotine coverage. The flat excise responsibility—£2.20 per 10 ml of e-liquid—and the requirement that every vaping product carry an obligation stamp signify a dramatic shift towards taxing safer nicotine options in the identical approach as cigarettes.
From 1 April 2026 onward, any enterprise manufacturing, importing, or stocking duty-suspended vaping items should register with HMRC. The approval course of might take as much as 45 working days, making early preparatory compliance important. This method locations burdens on producers, warehouse keepers, abroad producers (who should appoint UK representatives), and importers alike.
The timing of this reform is particularly important and ironic, as thousands and thousands of people who smoke have interaction with Stoptober, making critical makes an attempt to stop through the month of October, many with the assistance of vaping merchandise. Actually, information from main UK retailer Vape Store, underscores how intertwined vaping is with people who smoke’ efforts. A complete of 44% of people who smoke who tried vaping did so to stop; 42% mentioned they’d contemplate returning to cigarettes if vapes have been banned; and 17% mentioned they could revert to smoking below the 2026 vaping tax. Chris Value, Head of eCommerce at Vape Store, warned: “Many people who smoke could possibly be pushed again in direction of cigarettes if regulated, inexpensive vaping merchandise develop into restricted or closely taxed … insurance policies should stability defending individuals whereas enabling evidence-backed instruments to assist them stop.”
Regulating or regressing?
The priority just isn’t restricted to tax burdens. The UK Vaping Trade Affiliation (UKVIA) opposes new native powers that enable communities to veto vape store openings—tying them with betting outlets or fast-food shops—and argues such restrictions will cut back entry to hurt discount. UKVIA’s John Dunne famous that vape shops act as neighborhood sources, educating people who smoke and supporting safer options, and that these with out the nuance of hurt discount would possibly block specialist retailers out of confusion.
In the meantime, the federal government’s “Delight in Place” programme is being urged to rethink proposals which may restrict vape store presence in excessive streets. Critics concern these native veto powers may paradoxically improve smoking charges or drive customers into illicit provide chains. UKVIA suggests {that a} licensing system for vape retailers may higher safeguard youth whereas sustaining grownup entry, funding compliance enforcement with out dependency on blunt bans.
At the next stage, the incoming Tobacco and Vapes Invoice presents one other battleground. As restrictions on flavours, packaging, and age verification are debated, the voices of business, regulators, and shopper advocates converge. John Patterson, President of IKE Tech, believes that these restrictions will do little in the way in which of preserving youth away from vapes.
“Youth vaping stays a paramount concern within the UK. Regardless of years of debate and new rules, progress has been restricted. With charges stalled at 7% amongst 11-17-year-olds, it’s clear present efforts are falling brief, and the well being of younger individuals is in danger. It’s encouraging {that a} vary of measures are being mentioned and doubtlessly enforced by means of the Tobacco and Vapes Invoice, however whereas these might tick regulatory packing containers, they do little to curb real-world entry. For instance, analysis signifies that standardised packaging and controlled flavour descriptions may cut back the variety of youngsters who vape. But it’s telling that 38% of younger individuals say they might nonetheless strive vapes regardless of these measures.”
The confused logic behind the brand new vape coverage
Consistent with a number of research, Patterson highlights that many children are identified to acquire vapes by way of friends or buy them illegally. Therefore specializing in proscribing entry is a simplistic, and naive try at fixing the problem. “This underlines a easy fact: proposed measures primarily centered on limiting the enchantment of vaping merchandise alone are usually not sufficient. They overlook how simply youngsters can nonetheless entry vapes by means of social circles, irresponsible retailers, or with pretend IDs. Actually, current information exhibits that social drivers now outrank flavour as a motive for youth vaping, with peer strain (59%) and quick access by way of buddies, shops, or on-line (41%) being the important thing components.
Regulators must be pondering outisde the field, says Patterson. “To deal with these gaps, innovation have to be on the coronary heart of the answer. As vaping expertise evolves, particularly with the rise of more and more subtle ‘good vapes’, it’s extra necessary than ever to introduce strong safeguards that maintain tempo with these adjustments. Instruments like user-friendly app-based ID checks, digital machine controls, and blockchain-enabled privateness protections supply sensible methods to maintain these merchandise out of the fingers of younger individuals.”
The IKE Tech President believes that there are simple options staring us within the face, and being missed. “Parliament now has a transparent alternative to behave. Because the Tobacco and Vapes Invoice is debated, embedding expertise requirements into laws and shifting age verification from the purpose of sale to the purpose of use can be an necessary step ahead. Reasonably priced, scalable options, reminiscent of Bluetooth-enabled chips paired with biometric authentication, can create a digital ‘child-lock’ that makes units unusable for underage customers.”
“Reasonably priced, scalable options, reminiscent of Bluetooth-enabled chips paired with biometric authentication, can create a digital ‘child-lock’ that makes units unusable for underage customers.”John Patterson, President, IKE Tech
“This method is easy for companies to undertake and straight addresses the true methods wherein younger individuals acquire entry. Such expertise has been permitted for evaluation by means of the FDA’s PMTA course of and has confirmed to be 100% efficient in medical trials at stopping underage entry. By updating laws to replicate how vapes are literally accessed and used, and by supporting innovation that retains tempo with rising dangers, we will lastly make significant, lasting progress in tackling youth vaping.”
Patterson’s remarks spotlight a painful fact: regulatory measures that ignore how vapes are literally used and accessed are prone to fail. They could cut back the appearances of plain, however they do little when the infrastructure for underage acquisition stays in place. The UK’s new VPD and VDS framework, layered with native shop-veto powers and potential retail restrictions, threatens to coerce somewhat than help. Taxing safer options closely whereas leaving cigarettes comparatively as-is undermines substitution—that core precept of hurt discount. In impact, the coverage says: make the safer choice more durable and dearer, and maintain the extra harmful alternative broadly accessible.
Contradictions aplenty
This method is not only internally inconsistent—it dangers repeating failures seen elsewhere. Heavy taxes on nicotine merchandise usually shrink the authorized, regulated market and drive customers into illicit provide chains, the place product high quality is unverified and dangers are higher. A regulatory regime that penalises the very instruments people who smoke use to depart combustion behind might weaken the UK’s smokefree ambitions.
The hurt discount neighborhood should press for a greater path: differentiated taxation that displays relative danger, licensing and retail safeguards that exclude youth entry, and encouragement of innovation (e.g. age-locked machine applied sciences). If the 2026 responsibility and stamp regime is imposed with out such complementary safeguards, it might undermine the very progress Stoptober is supposed to catalyse.
The UK now stands at a crossroads. On one path lies punitive tax regimes, shrinking entry to safer choices, and bolstered illicit commerce. On the opposite, a extra balanced, evidence-informed path that respects hurt discount’s rules, shields grownup customers, and makes use of taxation to encourage—not punish—switching. Nationwide well being objectives will in the end rely upon which path wins coverage precedence.
Punishing Progress: The EU Appears Set to Tax Away Its Finest Probability to Finish Smoking?
