Vaping and the generational smoking ban

Summary

• Vapes, also called e cigarettes, heat a liquid that contains nicotine.
• The NHS says vaping is less harmful than smoking, though not free of risk, and about doubles a smoker's chance of quitting compared with patches or gum.
• The worry is that vapes also draw in people who never smoked. Nicotine is addictive and the effects of vaping for many years are not yet known, so the NHS tells children and people who do not smoke never to vape.
• Office for National Statistics figures published on 6 October 2026 show that in 2025:
  • 9.8% of UK adults smoked, about 4.9 million people, down from 20.2% in 2011
  • 5.4 million people in Great Britain vaped, more than smoked for the second year running
  • about 1.1 million vapers had never smoked, up from about 940,000 in 2024
• The Tobacco and Vapes Act became law on 29 April 2026. From 1 January 2027 it will be illegal to sell tobacco to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009, however old they get, which is why it is called a generational ban.
• For vapes, the Act bans advertising and lets ministers restrict packaging and displays that appeal to children.
• The Institute of Economic Affairs, a free market think tank, says the rule discriminates by age and will feed the black market in cigarettes.
• The government says three quarters of smokers wish they had never started.

Dig deeper

• The plan was first published in October 2023 by Rishi Sunak's Conservative government and was passed under Labour.
• Section 1 of the Act puts the offence on the seller. It creates no offence of smoking or carrying tobacco.
• An adult who buys tobacco for someone born in 2009 or later also commits an offence.
• The House of Lords voted 246 to 78 on 24 February 2026 against swapping the date of birth rule for a fixed minimum age of 21.
• New Zealand passed a similar law first. A new government moved to repeal it in February 2024, before the ban began.
• The Nuffield Council on Bioethics, an independent ethics body, sets out an intervention ladder for public health. Giving information is the bottom rung, taxes sit higher, and laws that restrict or remove choice are at the top.
• The Council says a measure higher up the ladder needs a stronger justification.
• Vapes have been restricted in steps:
  • disposable vapes were banned on 1 June 2025
  • a tax of £2.20 on every 10ml of vape liquid began on 1 October 2026
  • a ban on vape advertising is planned for 1 June 2027
• A government consultation closed on 2 October 2026 and no decision has been published. It proposed plain white packs, simple flavour names such as "Apple", and devices sold only in white, black or grey.
• The UK Vaping Industry Association, which speaks for vape companies, said the October figures showed vaping "playing an undeniable role" in the fall in smoking. It wants the tax rate reviewed.
• The anti smoking charity Action on Smoking and Health found in a 2026 survey that 6% of 11 to 17 year olds vape, about 370,000 children, and 19% have tried it.

Ethical issues

Interview questions

• What do you know about the Tobacco and Vapes Act?
• Why might someone who has never smoked start vaping, and does it matter?
• A patient who has smoked for 30 years tells you vaping is just as bad, so there is no point switching. How do you respond?
• What are the arguments for and against banning tobacco sales to everyone born after 2008?
• Two adults born a day apart will have different rights to buy tobacco for life. Can that be justified?
• Should vape flavours be restricted if they help adult smokers quit and also attract children?
• How far should the state go to stop adults harming their own health?
• Why is smoking more common among people in lower paid jobs, and what should the NHS do about it?