We finally have a date for when buying vapes will be illegal and it’s sooner than you’d think

The Government has officially set the date for when buying single-use vapes will be illegal. Here’s everything you need to know about how the new vaping ban will actually affect your life.

When will I no longer be able to buy vapes?

On 1st June 2025, it will be illegal to sell single-use vapes in England and Wales. The date is different in Scotland – their government plans to make buying vapes illegal in Scotland on 1st April 2025. Shops will have to have cleared out their supply by then. So yes, you could just really stock up on 31st May.

You’ll still be able to buy reusable vapes and other kinds of e-cigarettes. For now.

Other vapes will get more expensive in the future

The Government is also going to increase the prices of e-cigarettes to put people off them. In April 2026, there will be an extra tax of £1 to £3 on each 10ml of vape liquid, depending on how much nicotine is in them.

The Independent reckons a £4.00 vape will cost £5.40.

But why?

The government hopes that banning these vapes will cut down single-use plastic and be better for the planet. It’s great news for the polar bears, but not great news for students who rely on strawberry matcha cheesecake flavoured nicotine fumes to get them through any type of social interaction.

Andrew Gwynne, the health minister, said, “It’s deeply worrying that a quarter of 11- to 15-year-olds used a vape last year and we know disposables are the product of choice for the majority of kids vaping today.

“Banning disposable vapes will not only protect the environment, but importantly reduce the appeal of vapes to children and keep them out of the hands of vulnerable young people.”

The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) estimates people in the UK chucked away five million disposable vapes last year. The batteries in these vapes are also really difficult to recycle.

Why are lots of people against it?

A potential problem with this law is that people will just start buying black market vapes instead, and the Government will be less able to regulate what goes in them or who buys them. You can already buy vapes containing more nicotine than is technically legal in shops throughout the UK. In 2023, Border Force seized 4,537,689 illegal vapes from January to October.

What could happen next to vapes?

So, Labour still plans to pass the Tobacco and Vapes Bill which the Tories started. This will regulate the packaging of vapes so they are less colourful and appealing to young people. The law will also gradually change the age limit for smoking in an attempt to wean us all off nicotine and tobacco.

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