UK Vape Bans: What, When & Why

Vapers are increasingly concerned about a UK vape ban, but there’s also confusion and uncertainty about what will be banned.

There are three key points to understand:

·Disposable vapes will likely be banned from April 2025. There is no plan to ban reusable vapes - yet.
·You can still use alternatives to disposable vapes which are more economical and create less waste. 
·Plans to ban or regulate e-liquid flavours have been shelved - for now.

In this post we’ll explain which bans are definite and which are being considered, the best alternatives to banned products, the motivation for the bans and potential consequences. 

What vapes are being banned and when?
The government is banning the use of single-use devices - i.e. vapes designed to be used once and then thrown away (also known as disposables). 

This includes single-use ‘big puff devices’, which are disposable devices containing multiple 2ml pods. 

The ban is scheduled to come into place in April 2025. While it is currently on hold due to the general election, a new government is unlikely to delay the ban. What’s more, the ban is being introduced under environmental legislation, which makes it easier to put into place than a new law. 

The government is also actively trying to anticipate ways in which manufacturers will try to circumvent these regulations, such as adding a USB charging port to a disposable vape. 

Will prefilled pod vapes be banned?
One fear is that prefilled pod systems (also known as closed pod systems) might also be banned. Indeed, it’s alarming that some anti-vape activists are calling prefilled pod systems a loophole. 

Prefilled pod devices are not new. In fact, cigalikes, which are similar in function, were the first form of vape device to be used, while prefilled pod devices such as Juul were immensely popular until just a few years ago. 

While prefilled pod systems are not ideal, as the pods are only used once, the batteries can be reused many times before needing to be replaced. What’s more, they can make an ideal first choice for new vapers or those looking to switch from disposable to reusable devices. 

However, under current legislation, prefilled pod devices will not be included in a ban. 

Will there be a vape flavours ban?
Due to the 2024 General Election, it’s now unclear if and when there will be a vape flavour ban. 

Prior to the announcement of the election, the government was pushing through the Tobacco and Vapes bill. This bill would have allowed the Secretaries of State for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to regulate and/or ban non-tobacco e-liquid flavours. 

However, the bill has now been shelved, as parliament did not have time to pass it before the election was called. 

There’s a high chance the bill will be revived at some point. However, immediately following the election, a new government may have other priorities to focus on. 

What will happen to vape shops?
The Tobacco and Vapes bill included the power to regulate vape packaging and to ban the display of vapes, including empty boxes, on shop shelves. Combined with a potential flavour ban, this would greatly reduce the appeal of vape shops, and could potentially lead to hundreds shutting down. 

In the consultation that led up to the Tobacco and Vapes bill, there was an option to make an exception for dedicated vape shops. However, the government has admitted it didn’t read consultation responses, instead using AI to analyse them, and the option was not included in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. 

Again, this has now been shelved due to the 2024 general election. If there is another consultation, it will be key for vapers to participate. 

What alternatives to banned vapes can you use?
While you may be tempted to use illegal vapes, these devices have not been through the same strict testing process as legal devices. Indeed, random testing on illegal devices has found that they contain harmful elements not found in legal devices. 

Instead, it’s worth looking at reusable and rechargeable vapes. These include:

Prefilled pod systems
Prefilled (closed) pod kits are the simplest and most convenient alternatives to disposable vapes, and offer an effortless transition from disposable devices. In fact, in my local pub where I can talk directly to vapers about the benefits of reusable devices over disposables, almost everyone now uses a prefilled device.

Refillable devices
Including both open pod systems and pen devices, you’ll find refillable vape devices are cheaper to use, offer a greater choice of flavours and create less waste than prefilled systems.  

It’s worth noting that while prefilled pods are the simplest system to use, most of our customers choose to switch to refillable vape devices. 

Why are disposables being banned?
As we’ve often pointed out on this blog, disposables are not good for the environment. While they can be recycled (not the easiest process in the world) many people just throw them away. It’s a huge waste of lithium-ion, and harmful to the environment. 

Still, and despite the fact the ban is being processed under existing environmental legislation, that’s not the main reason single-use vapes are being targeted. Instead, the government has stated its main concern is youth vaping. 

In 2023, a fifth (20.5%) of children had experimented with vaping, an increase of  15.8% from 2022. Regular use is much lower, but still of concern, with 3.9% of children using vapes more than once a week. (Source: Use of e-cigarettes (vapes) among young people in Great Britain.)

Unfortunately, as we explore further down this post,  when we look at other countries where bans have been imposed, we can see these bans have not resolved the issue of youth vaping and may have made the situation worse. 

What will the penalties for vaping be?
Currently, there are no proposed fines or penalties for vaping an illegal product. Instead, penalties are aimed at shops that supply disposable vapes. However, the bill has only gone through its first reading, and will likely be reintroduced by a new government, so it is possible this could be changed. 

Will a vape ban stop youth vaping?
Shops can’t legally sell vapes to children. What’s more, when researcher Caitlin Notley spoke to young vapers, she found that most of them were using illegal disposable vapes.

While legitimate vape businesses will comply with the new regulations, it seems unlikely that individuals and retailers already breaking the law will stop selling disposables, whether legal or not, and won’t stop selling them to children. 

It’s also worth looking at what’s happened in other countries. In Australia, repeated attempts to ban vape devices (with the exception of those prescribed by doctors) have failed to reduce youth vaping rates, as the black market has stepped in to fill the gap).

In fact, smoking cessation campaigner and researcher Dr Colin Mendelsohn told me that the ban in Australia had led to easy access to vapes for children, resulting in higher youth vaping rates than many other developed countries. 


Data provided by Dr Colin Mendelsohn.

Note that you will see different figures for youth vaping in different sources. This is because the term can refer to ‘ever use’ (counting children who might have tried a disposable vape once), ‘regular use’ or those who have vaped at least once in the last 30 days (as above).

There’s a real danger that some measures the government is introducing will decimate responsible retailers who offer legal products to adult vapers while increasing the number of illegal retailers who both sell illegal devices and retail to children.

What other implications does the vape ban have?

Attitudes and quit rates
The government has stated that it wants vaping to remain a more attractive alternative to smoking. However, one thing it may not have considered is the impact of legislation on attitudes towards vaping. 

The unending media war on vaping has already been devastating, with Action on Smoking and Health reporting in 2023 that: 

Four in ten smokers (39%) in Great Britain now believe vaping is as or more risky compared with smoking up from a third last year… 1.8 million smokers (27%) have never tried vaping even though it’s a very effective quitting aid.

Looking into search data is also insightful - 7 of the top 10 searches regarding vaping demonstrate concern over safety. 

Data extracted using Ahrefs
I’ve found this myself - when I ask people why they still smoke cigarettes, they often tell me that vaping is worse than smoking. 

If you follow the news, and the constant stream of negative stories, it’s clear why many people don’t believe the government when it says vaping is at least 95% safer than vaping. By further introducing restrictions, the government could reinforce these attitudes, and dissuade people from switching away from cigarettes. 

Increase in tobacco use
Until recently, the UK government had made vaping a key part of its 2030 Smoke Free plan. While in theory the government still supports vaping as an alternative to smoking, in practice its measures are likely to boost smoking. 

One example we can look at is America, where the FDA restricted flavoured vape pods. While some vapers switched to alternative vaping products, 14% of vapers started smoking again - while only 4% quit nicotine altogether. 

Results were even worse in San Francisco, where a ban on flavoured vape and tobacco products more than doubled smoking rates amongst youths. 

Meanwhile, a recent survey of 1000 vapers in Montreal, Canada found that 36% had reverted to smoking after a flavoured vape ban.

In summary, it seems likely that by imposing restrictions on the main alternative to smoking, the government could end up jeopardising its own 2030 smoke-free target. 

Increase in crime
If some or all vapes are banned, some people will quit nicotine, some will switch to an alternative, some will revert to smoking - and some will buy vapes illegally.

This is compounded by the fact that Trading Standards don't have sufficient resources to properly police retailers, and that the £100 on-the-spot fine for selling illegal vapes is small change compared to the profits these illegal sellers are making.

Again, it’s worth looking at other countries where bans have been imposed. Stop Smoking practitioner and activist Dr Colin Mendelsohn told me that in Australia:

Over 90% of vapers have rejected the prescription model and purchase products from the black market. This is controlled mostly by organised crime groups, mainly Middle Eastern crime gangs and outlaw bikie gangs. These groups are also responsible for Australia’s black market in illicit tobacco which is about 25% of the total tobacco market (a direct result of the extremely high tobacco price).

The result has been a violent turf war between crime groups trying to control the market. We have seen:

·A wave of firebombings of tobacco and vape shops, extortion and several homicides and drive-by shootings
·Involvement of young people to hijack cars, ram shops and torch the buildings
·No tax revenue paid
·Dangerous and unregulated products
·Easy access to vaping products for young people from the black market.
·Youth vaping rates higher than most Western countries and increasing. 
·Criminalisation of consumers (vaping without a prescription is a criminal offence)
·Complete destruction of the legal retail vape industry

What’s the solution? According to one professor, it’s:

...to make quality-controlled vapes and liquids more widely available, but restricted to adults. If people could access vaping products legally they wouldn’t buy them on the black market and the black market would decline.
In other words, pretty much the opposite of what is planned in the UK.

Wrapping up
A disposable vape ban seems almost certain to come to pass. While this isn’t good for some vapers with disabilities, disposable vapes do have issues - they create more waste and do seem to be more attractive to children than refillable vapes. 

As we’ve seen, a ban is unlikely to solve this issue, but at least you can still find some strong alternatives to disposables. 

What’s much more concerning is other potential measures, such as a flavour ban. With few vapers using tobacco vapes now, it could lead to many vapers switching back to smoking, reduce the number of people switching from smoking to vaping and push those who do continue to vape to the black market.

FAQs

Will I still be able to buy disposable vapes online?
You will not be able to legally buy disposable vapes online. It’s true that some illegal vapes are currently available online. However, there may be a crackdown on these if and when the UK vape ban comes into force. In addition, when illegal vapes have been tested, heavy metals have been found in e-liquid, likely making them far more harmful than legal options which undergo stringent emissions testing.

Will I still be able to buy disposable vapes abroad and bring them into the UK?
Currently yes. The draft regulations outlaw the sale of disposable vapes, but makes no mention of offences for people who buy them for personal use. However, it will be illegal to supply these vapes to another person.  

What vapes will still be legal?
Under the disposable vapes ban, any devices that are refillable or rechargeable will remain legal. This means that both refillable vape devices like pod and pen systems and prefilled pod devices will be legal.  However, if the Tobacco and Vapes Bill is put through by a new government, all prefilled pods systems with non-tobacco/menthol flavours will also be banned.