UK Vape Flavour Ban Update: What’s Happening and the Potential Effects

In 2024, the UK government announced plans to introduce sweeping changes to the regulation of tobacco and vaping products. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill introduced under the administration of then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak would have done the following:

• Prevent the sale of all tobacco products – but not vapes – to any person born after 1 January 2009. Vapes will remain available to those aged 18 and older.
• Give the Secretary of State the power to ban any type of vaping product, with the intent of banning disposable vapes.
• Give the Secretary of State the power to ban any vape flavour or ingredient, with the intent of banning certain flavours thought to have youth appeal.
• Give the Secretary of State the power to institute new restrictions on the packaging of vaping products, with the intent of creating a plain packaging requirement.

The good news for those concerned about a potential vape flavour ban is that the Tobacco and Vapes Bill didn’t pass before the 2024 general election, which led to the formation of a new Labour government. Since the Tobacco and Vapes Bill didn’t pass, the Labour government will need to draft a new bill and start the process over.

The bad news, though, is that the bill was one of the topics in the King’s Speech following the election. This indicates that the Labour government considers the bill a priority and intends to reintroduce it – so a flavour ban could still be on the way.

So, what’s going on with the UK vape flavour ban? What are the reasons and potential effects, and what does it mean for you as a vaper? In this guide, we’ll explain everything that you need to know. Stick around to the end, and you’ll learn about the shocking results that vape flavour bans have had when they’ve been implemented in other countries.

Why Does the Government Want to Ban Vape Flavours?

The government is considering a ban on certain vape flavours due to a perception of heightened youth appeal. A concern exists that some sweet flavours might entice children to vape when they wouldn’t have initiated nicotine use otherwise. We’ll discuss this at greater length shortly.

What Flavours Are Going to Be Banned?

The answer to this question is unknown. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill would have given the Secretary of State broad power to ban any vape flavour or ingredient. Had the bill passed, there would presumably have been some public discourse regarding what should be banned. Around the world, flavour bans have taken a variety of different forms. In the worst-case scenario, the government might seek to ban everything other than tobacco and menthol flavours. On the other end of the spectrum, the government might only ban flavours with names like “Candy Floss” and “Marshmallow Cereal.” It’s important for the vaping community to remain vigilant due to the wide range of possible outcomes.

When Could the Flavour Ban Happen?

A potential flavour ban is likely to be several months – perhaps even more than a year – away at this point. Because the Tobacco and Vapes Bill didn’t pass under the previous Conservative government, the Labour government will have to write a new bill and start the process over. A bill that isn’t fast-tracked typically takes around a year to pass through both houses of Parliament. Assuming the rewritten bill passes, there would presumably still be a need for public discussion regarding the flavour ban – and after the ban is enacted, there would be a grace period of at least six months to allow retailers to sell the last of the banned products.

Have Flavours Really Caused a Youth Vaping Problem?

Since the proposed flavour ban is ostensibly intended to reduce underaged vaping, it’s worthwhile to examine the question of whether the UK actually has a youth vaping problem. If so, are flavours truly the cause?

How Many Underaged Vapers Are There in the UK?

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) conducts a yearly survey to assess the prevalence of youth vaping in Britain. The percentage of respondents aged 11-17 who reported being current vapers increased from 3.2 percent in 2021 to 6.9 percent in 2022. The percentage increased further to 7.6 percent in 2023 but decreased to 7.2 percent in 2024.

Do Flavoured E-Liquids Really Cause Children to Vape?

It’s clear that there has been an increase in youth vaping in Britain over the past few years. In evaluating an appropriate regulatory response for this issue, though, it is essential for lawmakers to understand the true reason why more teens vape today compared to 2021 and prior. Flavoured e-liquids have always existed and are probably not the cause of youth vaping. It’s more likely that the real cause is a change in the products that are available. The United States is the biggest market for vaping products and drives trends in the vaping industry worldwide. The US banned flavoured pre-filled vape pods in flavours other than tobacco in 2020. Prior to the ban, JUUL and Vuse were the most popular e-cigarette brands in the US. The ban didn’t include disposable vapes, though, and companies stepped in to fill the void by releasing disposables in hundreds of different flavours. Disposable vapes very quickly became the most popular types of vaping devices in the US, and the trend spread throughout the rest of the world in 2021 and 2022.

In short, there was no change in the types or availability of vape flavours in the UK between 2021 and 2022 that could have caused an increase in youth vaping. Something did change about the vaping industry, though, and that was the prevalence and wide availability of disposable vapes. Based on the data, it seems plausible that a ban on disposable vapes could help to reduce youth vaping. It appears unlikely, though, that banning flavours would have a positive effect on that issue.

Vaping Has Nearly Eliminated Youth Smoking in the UK

It is also important for lawmakers to consider the impact that vaping has had on youth smoking. From 1982-2006, the smoking rate among children aged 11-15 remained fairly static at 9-11 percent. In 2010, however, the youth smoking rate dropped to 5 percent. The drop occurred at the same time that the first e-cigarettes became widely available in the UK. Youth smoking rates have continued to decline, finally reaching just 1 percent as of the most recent ASH survey in 2021.

Grouping underaged smokers and vapers together, it is clear that total youth nicotine use in Britain remains at an all-time low and that vaping has nearly eliminated underaged smoking. It is perhaps prudent to consider the possibility that educating children about the dangers of nicotine use and implementing harsher penalties for underaged sales would have a greater effect on reducing youth vaping than banning flavours or certain types of products that have helped adult smokers quit.

Is There Any Possibility That a Flavour Ban Won’t Happen?

The fact that the Tobacco and Vapes Bill needs to be rewritten and will begin its progress through Parliament again does allow additional time for MPs to gather more feedback from the vaping industry and from the millions of people in the UK who have used vaping to help themselves quit smoking. With that being said, the bill seemed to have broad support from both parties in its original form, and it is possible that the Labour government will reintroduce the bill with few changes. This would be a very good time to contact your MP and voice your opinion.

A member of the public started a petition asking the government not to ban flavoured vapes. The petition passed the 10,000-signature mark required to receive a response from the government and eventually collected 54,867 signatures before being closed early due to the general election. The official response indicated that the government intended to move forward with “[restricting] vape flavours that appeal to children.” The response also indicated, though, that the government intended to carefully consider any restrictions in order to “avoid unintended consequences on smoking rates.”

After the new Tobacco and Vapes Bill is introduced, someone will need to start a new petition in order to receive a response from the Labour government.

What Are the Negative Effects of a Vape Flavour Ban?

The biggest potential negative effect of a ban on vape flavours is that adult vapers who enjoy using the banned flavours may revert to smoking. Multiple surveys have shown that fruity and sweet flavours are more popular among adult vapers than tobacco and menthol flavours. In addition, a survey conducted in 2024 by the Independent British Vape Trade Association suggests that as many as 38 percent of those who quit or reduced smoking with the help of vapes would return to smoking or buy illegal vapes in the event of a ban on disposable vapes and flavoured e-liquids. It seems very likely that a flavour ban would have a high likelihood of causing an increase in the smoking rate.

A flavour ban could also have a number of other unwanted consequences.

• Negative media coverage originating from the US has helped to create a false perception in the UK that vaping is as risky as smoking. Banning certain types of vaping products could help to promote that mindset and discourage smokers from switching.
• Banning flavours could encourage the development of a black market, as some of the people who want flavoured vapes will buy them from other nations or order them online. This would create an excessive burden for law enforcement and customs officials.
• The number of people making their own e-liquids would increase, potentially leading to an uptick in accidental nicotine poisonings.
• Tax revenue would likely be lost. The UK currently collects an estimated £8.8 billion in tobacco duties per fiscal year. Since the government intends to ban all tobacco sales to individuals born after 1 January 2009, that revenue will eventually need to be replaced. A vape tax seems inevitable, and revenue will be lost if vapers can’t find the flavours they want from legal sources.

Have Flavour Bans Worked Elsewhere in the World?

Many other nations and localities around the world have attempted to institute vape flavour bans, and those bans have often resulted in unintended negative consequences.

Flavour Bans Don’t Prevent People from Buying Flavoured Vapes

Flavour bans have been implemented in Massachusetts, San Francisco, New York, New Jersey and Washington inthe United States. People have circumvented the bans by driving across state lines or by buying vapes on Native American reservations. People who want to buy flavoured vapes have no trouble getting them, but tax revenue is lost because people buythe vapes from different jurisdictions.

In 2020, researchers conducted a survey of 1,624 individuals living in US states that had implemented flavour bans. Most of the respondents were still using banned flavours. At the time of the survey, retailer compliance with the bans was so poor that nearly a third of the respondents didn’t even know that flavoured vapes were banned where they lived. Those who were aware of the bans simply bought their vapes from non-compliant retailers or ordered them online.

Flavour Bans Cause Vapers to Revert to Smoking

Vape flavours have been banned in the nations of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. The bans have increased the smoking rates in all three nations, including a shocking increase of 38.89 percent in Estonia. Clearly, the government needs to consider the potential impact of a flavour ban on adult vapers very carefully. Banning flavours has the potential to undo years of progress in our nation’s fight against tobacco use.

Conclusion: The Evidence Suggests that Flavour Bans Don’t Work

An estimated 5.6 million adults in the UK are vapers. That’s about 11 percent of all adults – an enormous number of people who have either cut back on smoking or have given it up entirely. As we’ve detailed in this article, a ban on vape flavours in the UK wouldn’t address the root cause of youth vaping and could have a wide range of unintended negative consequences. Flavoured vapes will remain available to those who want to circumvent the law, and many of those who don’t want to break the law will revert to smoking. That scenario has played out time and again across the world, and the result won’t be different if a flavour ban is enacted here.

If you don’t want the government to ban flavoured vapes, we highly recommend contacting your MP now. When the Tobacco and Vapes Bill is reintroduced, watch the Parliament Petitions website for a petition or create your own. Don’t delay; you may not get another chance to voice your opinion.