What changed
The UK’s Vaping Product Duty has taken effect at £2.20 per 10ml of e-liquid. Tobacco duty has also risen by £2.20 per 100 cigarettes or 50g of tobacco.
Vape sellers can keep selling existing stock at the old price for six months. The new duty applies whether or not a product contains nicotine.
Why it matters
The policy puts vaping and smoking on slightly different tracks. Vaping is becoming more expensive, while the tobacco increase is designed to preserve a financial incentive for smokers to switch to vaping.
The effect at the till will not be immediate or uniform. Some retailers may still be selling old stock, while others may pass on the duty sooner. That makes the next six months a messy test of how sensitive consumers are to price.
The government is also tightening control around the market. Every vape sold in the UK must carry a traceability stamp from April, and new vape shops in England will need local-council planning permission.
That creates pressure on both sides of the legal market. Some consumers may stock up, cut down or quit. Specialist retailers warn that higher costs could strain their businesses, while the vaping industry argues that cheap products help adults stop smoking.
The policy’s central bet is straightforward: make vaping less affordable and less visible, particularly to young people, while keeping cigarettes comparatively more expensive. Whether it reduces youth vaping, supports smoking cessation or pushes more trade toward illegal sellers will become clearer only after prices and enforcement settle.
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