The Tobacco & Vapes Bill passed its first Commons hurdle by 415 votes to 47 on 26 November, moving the government closer to its aim of the UK being smoke-free and clamping down on youth vaping.

Some aspects of the Bill have been put forward without potential for debate, such as a total ban on vape advertising and sponsorship. Other aspects are subject to consultation, including:

• Whether retailers will require a licensing scheme to sell vapes
• The sale of vape flavours that ‘overtly appeal’ to children, such as cotton candy
• Restrictions on vape packaging
• A vape display ban
• Extending the indoor smoking ban to outdoor spaces
• Making the majority of smoke-free public spaces vape-free

It is largely expected the Bill will become law . Health secretary Wes Streeting said it is “incredibly important” the Tobacco & Vapes Bill is voted through.

Government claims marketing vapes to children risks long-term addiction

Streeting continued: “The number of children vaping is growing at an alarming rate and without urgent intervention, we’re going to have a generation of children with long-term addiction. 

“It is unacceptable that these harmful products are being deliberately targeted at children with brightly coloured packaging and flavours like ‘gummy bear’ and ‘rainbow burst’.  

“The Tobacco & Vapes Bill provides the protection that children and young people need to avoid a life imprisoned by addiction.”

The government has also announced it will provide £70m for stop smoking services, and £10m to bolster Trading Standards enforcement.

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

This comes off the back of new data from National Trading Standards (NTS) that show more than £1m illicit vapes were seized inland by Trading Standards in 2023-24, a 59% increase compared to the previous year.  

This included 299,224 vapes confiscated in the fourth quarter of 2023-24 alone, and 24% of test purchases in this period being illegal sales of vapes to children.

The results come from Trading Standards’ Operation Joseph, an initiative to tackle illegal activity in the sector.

Markus Lindblad, nicotine retail expert from Haypp.com, warned that £10m for trading standards “will not be enforce” to “effectively enforce the new vape licensing system”.

He said: “In order to combat this, more funding will be required to enable authorities to correctly carry out the necessary enforcement of the ban.”

Concerns over effect vape bans could have on number of smokers

Chief medical officer Chris Whitty said: “If this major piece of legislation is passed, it will accelerate a smokefree generation and lead to children never being trapped by addiction to cigarettes with lifelong harms to their health.

“The rising number of children vaping is a significant concern, and the Tobacco & Vapes Bill will help prevent marketing vapes to children, which is utterly unacceptable. Smoking results in direct harm across a person’s life course but also causes harms to others around them, including children, pregnant women and the medically vulnerable.

“Reducing the number of vulnerable people exposed to second-hand smoke, as well as preventing non-smokers taking up vaping is important and will improve the health of the nation.”

However, Elfbar has released results of its survey of 6,000 UK adult vapers. Those results showed that 41% of respondents would switch to smoking tobacco if flavour restrictions were introduced. Meanwhile 38% of respondents would seek illegal vapes if flavours were restriction following a single-use ban.  

An NHS national medical director, Sir Stephen Powis, said: “Vaping among young people is a significant and growing concern and we wholeheartedly welcome the government’s commitment to tackle this as part of the measures outlined in this Bill.

“Smoking also remains the leading cause of preventable deaths and has a huge impact on the NHS, costing billions every year and we look forward to working with the government and partners to ensure the next generation grow up smoke and vape free.

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