A close look at the restrictions in the new Tobacco and Vapes Bill

Sweeping restrictions proposed in the new Tobacco and Vapes Bill published last week will clamp down on the sale of tobacco and vape prod­ucts. This includes requiring retailers to have a licence to sell vapes.

The bill will now face amendments by MPs. It proposes retail­ers face penalties unless they secure a vape-sellers licence, restrict their vape displays, cease all adver­tisements and stop selling certain flavours.

Vape licensing

Under the new proposed Tobacco and Vapes Bill, retailers will need to secure a licence to sell vapes. They may be charged by local authorities to obtain one.

Elfbar told Better Retailing that while it supports a licens­ing scheme, “these meas­ures could reduce sales and raise compliance costs for retailers”.

The ACS also sounded the alarm over legitimate sellers potentially being refused licences due to their store’s location and proximity to other sellers.

A licensing scheme has been described as an effective tool to combat the illicit trade. However, industry bodies criti­cised the leniency of the proposed £200 penalty for violations, which authori­ties will be able to enforce on the spot. UKVIA direc­tor general John Dunne said fines of £200 must be “much higher” to prevent rogue traders.

Display and packaging changes included in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill

The bill will also allow the government to restrict displays of vapes in store. While the bill fails to set out what these would be, it could include a com­plete display ban, remov­ing the products from the counter or moving vapes away from categories that appeal to children. The legislation could also be used to prevent the display of prices or empty packs for vaping products.

The bill also allows for restrictions on vape pack­aging “to make them less appealing to children”.

Retailers could also face fines or a maximum of two years’ imprisonment for advertising tobacco or vape products in their business, includ­ing any online or digital promotional material, with some exceptions for messages within special­ist tobacconists whose advertising is concealed from public view.

Flavour restrictions and the generational ban

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill allows the government to limit the ingredients used in vapes to outlaw certain flavours, though a list of flavours affected is yet to be announced.

Vape distributor Phoe­nix 2 Retail is promis­ing to support retailers by providing a phone hotline for checking products’ compliance with several regulations, including next year’s disposable-vape ban.

The bill will also imple­ment a ban on selling to­bacco products to anyone born after 1 January 2009, increasing the legal age to buy cigarettes by one year every year, begin­ning in 2027.

The Tobacco and Vapes bill is separate from and accompanies both the ban on single-vapes starting in June 2025, as well as a new vape-liquid tax that will raise prices by 44p on typical 2ml devices from October 2026.

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