The Government is right to crack down on youth vaping and rogue retailers.

But protecting children and tackling illegal traders should not mean punishing responsible businesses, the millions of adults who use vaping to quit and stay smoke-free or the millions more who have yet to make the switch.

But that is exactly what is happening.

This ten-point Fair Deal calls for regulation that protects children and drives out rogue traders, while preserving vaping as an accessible, considerably less harmful alternative for adult smokers. 

While it’s not risk-free and should not be promoted to children, vaping has supported more than five million adults in Great Britain to cut down on or stop smoking. 

A new evidence review examining 80 trials involving almost 30,000 participants has found high-certainty evidence that nicotine vapes are more effective at helping people quit smoking than traditional nicotine replacement therapies such as patches and gum.

Regulation must recognise the fundamental difference between regulated vaping products and tobacco; and between lawful and illicit traders. Which is why we are asking for ten commitments required from government:

 

1. Tell the truth about vaping and smoking

The Government must lead an evidence-based public information campaign that makes the relative risks clear: vaping, while not risk-free, is substantially less harmful than smoking and can help adult smokers quit.

In 2026, 52% of smokers wrongly believed vaping was as, or more, harmful than smoking. Allowing this misunderstanding to grow risks discouraging smokers from switching or pushing adults back towards cigarettes.

Vaping must also be clearly recognised as part of the solution to smoking and put back at the heart of public health strategy if the Government is to achieve its smokefree ambition. 

2. License every vape retailer

A robust, fit-for-purpose licensing scheme should be implemented across the UK, requiring approved retailers to demonstrate responsible trading, staff training, effective age verification and full compliance.

It should also support Trading Standards in proactively identifying and taking action against illegal traders, with an industry framework estimating that licensing could generate upwards of £50 million to empower enforcement.

The Tobacco and Vapes Act already provides powers for retail licensing. Those powers should now be implemented effectively, and extended to distributors to help cut off the supply of illegal products at source.

 

3. Drive rogue traders out of business

Selling vapes to children or repeatedly stocking illegal products should carry consequences severe enough to remove offenders from the market. 

Trading Standards needs proper funding for test purchasing, inspections and intelligence-led enforcement. Repeat offenders should face escalating fines, immediate license suspension or revocation, product seizure and, where appropriate, premises closure. 

Responsible retailers should not be punished for the behaviour of businesses that deliberately ignore the law.

 

4. Do not hide regulated vapes from view

Legal vaping products sold by licensed retailers should not be placed behind tobacco-style shutters. 

Treating vapes visually in the same way as cigarettes risks reinforcing misconceptions that they carry the same level of harm. Retail display rules should distinguish between combustible tobacco and regulated alternatives, while preventing displays designed to appeal to children. 

The Government’s current consultation proposes keeping vapes out of sight despite acknowledging they are less harmful than cigarettes and can help adults quit. 

 

5. Recognise responsible vape shops as community assets

The Government must withdraw its indiscriminate description of vape shops as “anti-social”. 

Lawful specialist retailers that apply strict age controls and help adult smokers move away from cigarettes should be recognised as potential community assets - not placed in the same category as rogue traders engaging in underage and illegal sales.

Policy must clearly distinguish between responsible businesses and criminal operators. Responsible vape traders should also qualify for business rates relief like any ‘good growth’ business sectors.

 

6. Allow responsible communication with adults

The blanket prohibition on vape advertising and sponsorship due to take effect on 1 June 2027 should be reviewed. Adult smokers cannot make informed choices if the legitimate vaping industry is prevented from communicating with them, while a complete ban risks inadvertently protecting tobacco products by restricting competition from less harmful alternatives.

Licensed operators should be permitted to share factual information and promote lawful vaping products to adult smokers and vapers through tightly controlled, age-assured channels. This should include within specialist vape retailers, which are adult-focused environments where customers have already chosen to shop for vaping products.

The licensing regime should define what is permitted and prohibit channels, imagery, influencers and placements likely to reach or appeal to children.

 

7. Remove child-oriented branding – not all branding

Products featuring disproportionately child-appealing imagery, such as visuals tied to popular youth culture, should not be permitted on the market. However, this does not justify making every regulated vape product look like a packet of cigarettes.

Responsible branding enables adults to identify products and understand what they are buying, while plain packaging could further blur the distinction between vaping and smoking at a time when public understanding of relative risk is already dangerously poor.

 

8. Protect adult flavour choice

Flavours are vital in helping adults quit and stay off cigarettes and should be protected. 

While language that is disproportionately youth-appealing and non-descriptive – such as ‘unicorn’ – should be prohibited, restrictions must not unintentionally result in sweeping de facto bans on flavours themselves.

For example, proposals to limit descriptors to a single word or remove descriptions for entire categories, such as desserts, could effectively remove some flavours from the market. Any restrictions on descriptors should be based on robust evidence and ensure adults can still identify and access the flavours that work for them.

9. Restore a national Swap to Stop programme

The Government should establish a properly funded successor to Swap to Stop, providing adult smokers with free vaping starter kits alongside professional quitting support. 

The original programme was created to offer up to one million smokers in England access to a starter kit, and resulted in many more people using vapes to try and quit smoking, but national provision has ended and some councils are now arranging replacement supplies locally. 

Access to effective quitting support should not depend on where a smoker lives. 

10. Review the Vaping Products Duty before it causes harm

The Vaping Products Duty, taking effect from October 2026 at a rate of £2.20 (£2.64 including VAT) per 10ml of e-liquid, must be urgently reviewed as vapers now face price increases of up to 264%. 

The Government must preserve a substantial financial incentive to choose regulated vaping products over smoking and should independently assess the likely impact of the duty on consumer prices, smoking relapse, the illicit market and people on lower incomes. 

Tax policy should never encourage adults to return to cigarettes or seek out illegal products, however, national polling of 3,500 adult vapers found half said they would do just that once the duty comes into force.

Our message to policymakers

Protect children. Punish rogue traders. Support responsible retailers. Preserve adult choice. Tell the truth about relative risk. Help deliver a smoke free future. 

Regulate vaping according to the evidence, not as though it were smoking.

Give consumers a Fair Deal for Vaping.