What’s Happening with the Tobacco and Vapes Bill 2024?
2024 has certainly been an eventful political year, with elections taking place across Europe, a presidential election set to take place in November – and, of course, our very own general election right here in the UK.
Understandably, given the policy announcements of Rishi Sunak’s now-defunct government, many vapers have been keen to see how all of this might affect vaping going forward.
Banning disposables, prohibiting flavours, and increasing taxes were all ideas touted by the previous administration.
So, what’s the new deal?
Kier Starmer might represent a change in political direction, but that doesn’t mean everything has changed—many policies have been carried over directly.
While many old Conservative policies have been abandoned, the new Labour administration has taken the Tobacco and Vapes Bill into its stride, creating major uncertainty for the future of vapers across the country.
But what are the actual policies? Let’s take a closer look.
What Are Labour’s Plans for Smoking and Vaping?
Ironically, the government reportedly shares the same stance on vaping as us: if you don’t smoke, don’t vape. Vaping should only be used as an effective quit-smoking tool.
The government even ran a world-first scheme urging smokers to make the switch to vaping, providing one million tobacco users with a vape starter kit to help protect their long-term health.
However, the story is now very different.
Some policies are great, but others seem like nothing more than a damaging, knee-jerk reaction from the government in response to wrongful media pressure.
Creating a Smokefree Generation
The key point of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will be to outlaw smoking for good. Each year, the minimum age at which you can buy tobacco will progressively increase so that future generations will never be able to smoke.
Anyone born after 1 January 2009 will never be able to legally smoke in their lifetime, making the UK the first country worldwide to ban smoking altogether.
Vapoholic was launched with the vision to help smokers kick their habit to the curb, so we completely agree that this is a step in the right direction.
Banning the Sale of Nicotine-Free Vapes to Under-18s
The new government administration has committed to ending a current legal loophole which allows under-18s to purchase nicotine-free vapes.
This legal blind spot has allowed disreputable brick-and-mortar stores to sell vapes to non-adults, casting an unfair shade over the entire vaping industry.
Under the new regulation, only those aged 18 and above will be able to purchase vaping products, whether they contain nicotine or not.
This will have a real impact on the rise in illicit child vaping, and reputable stores like ourselves can only wonder why the change wasn’t enacted sooner.
Banning Vape Flavours
Another key – and highly concerning point – is the power for the Secretary of State to freely enact regulations on vaping flavours across the UK.
Although this isn’t an outright ban on e-liquid flavour, it’s not far off. This is because the media has consistently vilified the vaping industry, leading to many widely-held misconceptions.
One of the narratives we see the most is that sweeter vaping flavours, such as Blue Raspberry, are actually a conniving marketing ploy designed to lure in and target children.
As a result, we would not be surprised if vaping flavours soon came under direct fire, with Labour moving to impose bans in the near future to earn some easy approval points.
Earlier reports suggested that vapers may soon have their options severely limited, potentially down to just four flavours: mint, menthol, tobacco, and fruit.
Restricting Vape Packaging
It’s not just flavour that’s under the microscope. This new bill is also seeking to grant the Secretary of State complete power over the packaging of vaping products.
Heavy government restrictions already exist on the marketing of vaping products, forbidding advertising on television, social media, newspapers, or text messaging.
Vaping products can only be presented on the seller’s website or packaging, meaning they’re limited to targeting the 18+ ex-smokers who actively seek them out. All products must display the relevant warnings on the packaging, letting consumers know of any associated risks.
However, it appears that this isn’t enough. The government has previously held talks to impose the same restrictions on vape packaging as currently exists on tobacco products.
Now, Labour has committed to ban vapes and e-liquids from being branded at all. Soon, all vape packaging may use a standardised brown and black colour scheme, plastered with warning photos and text.
Increasing the Price of Vaping Products
One of the main draws to switch to vaping has always been the cost. Vapes present a much cheaper (and healthier) way for users to consume nicotine, saving around £3000 a year when compared to smoking.
Sadly, this could be set to change.
Former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, proposed increasing the tax on vaping products back in the 2024 Spring Budget, charging up to £3 more per 10ml of liquid. This could result in a bottle of shortfill e-liquid becoming £10 more expensive!
While Labour has avoided the subject so far, introducing a tax hike on vaping products appears to be the next logical step in their crackdown. Tax increases may mirror those on smoking, vastly reducing the affordability of vaping products.
Is the UK Banning Disposable Vapes?
We know what you’re thinking – how come disposable vapes haven’t been mentioned in this new Tobacco and Vaping Bill? Does this mean they’ll be unaffected by the changes?
Well, unfortunately, no.
Current evidence suggests that disposable vapes may be completely banned by as early as 1st April 2025.
Back in March, the government published the draft Environmental Protection (Single Use Vapes) (England) Regulations 2024, a new piece of legislation that seeks to ban single-use devices on the grounds that they’re bad for the environment.
If this legislation is picked up by Labour, disposable vapes could soon become a thing of the past.
Is Labour’s Smoking Ban a Good Thing?
It’s hard to disagree with Labour’s broad policy aims; after all, who wouldn’t agree that Great Britain would be better as a smoke-free nation?
Smoking takes millions of lives each year and costs the UK government around £12.6 billion annually. Taking that out of the national equation can be nothing but good.
The mission to tackle underage vaping is also very admirable – we wholeheartedly agree that something needs to be done to stop the rise, for the good of young people across the nation.
That being said, the execution really leaves a lot to be desired.
Vaping is officially recognised as the most effective quit-smoking tool by the NHS and even the government itself, but this new legislation treats it as something to be feared.
Stigmatising and prohibiting vaping will do nothing but turn more users back to smoking or even black-market products.
What Are the Problems with the Tobacco and Vapes Bill?
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill may have some good points – stopping future generations from ever touching a cigarette – but there is some significant room for improvement.
The government has taken an extreme approach to the vaping issue, prohibiting flavours, branding, and even increasing taxation.
While the government might be intending to decrease the number of underage vapers, this heavy-handed approach is actually going to affect adult vapers the most.
Don’t just take our word for it. A study by the University of Waterloo found that one in five vapers would return to smoking if flavoured e-liquids were banned, massively reducing the effectiveness of vaping as a quitting device.
Banning flavours, eliminating vaping appeal, and raising prices just gives ex-smokers more and more reasons to return to tobacco and all of its associated ill health risks.
Stopping the sale of disposable vapes isn’t the magic fix that it’s made out to be, either. In an ideal world, banning disposables would stop them from getting into the hands of under-18s overnight.
The reality, however, is very different.
As we all know, underage vapers primarily buy their disposables from brick-and-mortar stores willing to turn a blind eye in exchange for some easy profit. These stores already don’t care for the rules, so introducing more won’t do much to discourage them.
In fact, all of this prohibition is more likely to fuel the black market, with more and more unchecked and unregulated disposables being sold over the counter. These illegal disposable vapes can contain a variety of banned ingredients, like diacetyl and chromium, which could lead to a rise in hospitalisations and medical problems.
So, is there a better solution to all of this?
Vapoholic’s Stance On the Smoking and Vaping Ban
Although vaping has been overly demonised in the media, we do recognise the need to help curb the rise in youth vaping while maintaining it as an accessible quit-smoking tool.
This might sound a bit like having your cake and eating it, too, but there are actually a number of ways to achieve this effectively.
Introducing a Vape Retail Licence
One of the biggest problems with disposables is their irresponsible sale. This is because any shop or retail outlet can sell vaping products, all without a proper licence.
This makes it much harder to ensure vapes are being sold properly, as the sellers aren’t registered and don’t risk losing a source of income if they flout the rules.
Other products, like alcohol, require the vendor to be fully licenced, abiding by strict rules in order to sell them. If they’re caught breaking these rules, their licence will be revoked, so it’s in their best interest to follow the law.
According to the UK Vaping Industry Association, requiring shops to carry a vaping licence would massively help to combat rogue traders, all while earning the government an extra £50 million a year.
This extra money could be put towards supporting the massively underfunded Trading Standards institute, helping to get another step closer to fully responsible sales.
Ban Child-Friendly Imagery and Packaging
We understand the desire to prohibit the marketing of vapes to reduce their appeal to young people, but imposing the same restrictions that are applied to tobacco products isn’t a good idea.
If vaping products are confined to the same colouring and packaging restrictions as tobacco products, people will inevitably draw a comparison between the two, further fuelling the false belief that vaping is as harmful as smoking.
Instead, we believe a compromise would be much more effective.
Allow vaping companies to continue branding their products, but prohibit the use of cartoonish imagery or mascots that may be appealing to children. Vaping is for adult ex-smokers only, and the packaging should reflect that.
Keep Vape Flavours Safe
Now we’ve covered how to tackle youth vaping, let’s take a look at how to protect vaping itself.
Vaping is significantly less harmful than smoking, as it doesn’t produce the toxic chemicals and tar of tobacco smoke.
More and more people are successfully making the switch, which is a huge win for public health. A recent study found that if just 50% of UK smokers were to make the switch to vaping, total hospital admissions would reduce by 13% – saving the NHS around £518 million per year.
That being said, cracking down on flavours will do nothing but discourage people from making the leap.
A survey by the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association found that 72% of respondents credited ‘tasty’ vape flavours for helping them quit smoking for good. Just 10% of respondents used tobacco-flavoured e-liquids after switching.
Banning flavours will limit the choices available to vapers, minimising the odds of smokers making a move that will save their money, health, and even their lives.
What Does the Future Hold for Vaping?
Although we’d like to stay positive, the future of vaping is looking more uncertain than ever before.
Disposables are on their way out, and soon, all of your favourite flavours look like they could be joining them, too.
None of this changes the fact that vaping is 95% less harmful than smoking, and we will continue to champion the importance of vaping for a healthier future for years to come.
If you’re concerned about what might be in store for vaping, make your voice heard!
Remember, our government and our politicians react to the will of the public, so contacting your MP to show your support is a powerful tool.
We will keep you posted with any further updates. But for now, stay safe and happy vaping!