UK Vape Tax Confirmed For 2026 In Labour Party Budget
It has been a dramatic few days for vapers in the UK, as Starmer's Labour government begin ironing out their plans for future legislation. A number of measures previously discussed by the Conservatives under Rishi Sunak regarding tobacco and vaping have re-entered the fray, the latest of which being the announcement of the very first landmark tax on e-liquids during Labour's budget reveal yesterday (30/10/24), with the hike now scheduled for October 2026.
This news comes just days after confirmation that from the 1st of June 2025, it will no longer be legal to buy or sell single-use vape kits in any form. This gave retailers and consumers alike from the 24th October 2024, until the 1st June 2025 to buy and sell any remaining disposable vape stock they desire.
Below we will explore the nature of the vape tax, as well as how it could impact vapers across the UK.
Table of Contents
- Why Is The UK Introducing A Vape Tax?
- When Will The UK Vape Tax Come Into Effect?
- What Products Will The UK Vape Tax Affect?
- How Much Will E-Liquid Cost In The UK After The Vape Tax?
- How Will Best-Selling Vape Brands Respond To The Tax?
- What Can Vapers Do To Get Ahead Of The UK E-Liquid Tax?
- UK Vape Tax FAQs
Why Is The UK Introducing A Vape Tax?
"We want to discourage non-smokers & young people from taking up vaping."
Rachel Reeves on Labour's vape tax: M.E.N
The UK vape tax has been closely tied to the debate surrounding disposable vape use amongst under-18s. In fact, it was originally put forward as a part of the original Tobacco and Vapes bill drafted by the former Conservative Government.
The leading theory is that in conjunction with banning disposable vapes, which would remove the easiest vaping product to access and use from youngsters' reach, imposing a levy on e-liquids would seek to price-out those that then might turn to refillable vapes instead. Ultimately this system is designed to prevent under-18s and non-smokers from wanting to start vaping.
The future of disposable vapes in England has been up in the air since the snap general election in July of this year (2024). Previously Rishi Sunak's Conservative party had been debating the best way to tackle the issues surrounding disposable vape use, with a potential ban and subsequent taxation being suggested in an effort to protect both under-18s and the environment.
This earlier version of the vape tax was more fleshed-out than the Labour equivalent announced yesterday. Previously it was stated that: "The rates will be £1.00 per 10ml for nicotine free liquids, £2.00 per 10ml on liquids that contain 0.1-10.9 mg nicotine per ml, and £3.00 per 10ml on liquids that contain 11mg or more per ml". Despite this earlier structure, so-far Labour have simply stated that they will impose a £2.20 duty per 10ml of e-liquid sold.
A UK-wide consultation period on both the disposable ban and vape tax ran from the 23rd February to the 8th March 2024. The bill was challenged by public and private-sector vaping advocates who argued that a total ban risked reversing progress made towards the Government's own smoke-free goals by driving vapers back to cigarettes, while encouraging a black market vape trade. Many also felt it flew in the face of recommendations put forward by the Khan Review in 2023 which advocated vaping as a method of tobacco harm reduction as one of its 'key pillars' for change and stated that taxation should be applied to tobacco only to boost funding to Stop Smoking Services.
Ultimately these counter-claims were overturned, largely due to an overwhelming 77% of consultation respondents being in-favour of the proposals, leading to the ban and vape tax being pencilled-in for 2025 and formalised in the Tobacco and Vapes bill by March 2024.
When the snap general election was held in July however, all plans involving vaping were shelved as MPs scrambled to push a handful of legislature through into law before the dissolution of parliament; with the proposed Tobacco and Vapes bill not making the cut.
In yesterday's (30/10/24) Labour Budget reveal however, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that a duty of £2.20 per 10ml would indeed be applied to e-liquids in the UK by October 2026.
Previously Scotland were the first devolved UK parliament to announce that despite the Tobacco and vapes bill not making it into law, they would stick to their previous decision to ban disposable vapes by April 2025 with no mention of taxation. This has since been overshadowed by the official announcement that England will also ban disposables in June 2025, with talks underway to unify the date across all UK nations, to be followed in 2026 by the new vape tax.
The main reasons/goals given for the new vape tax include:
- Making Vaping Less Affordable To Under-18s -
Disposable vapes have been at the heart of a youth vaping crisis in the UK, with thousands of reports of under-18s getting their hands on single-use vapes seen as trendy by peers. The colours and flavours of the devices being pinned as the primary appeal. Widespread reports of children vaping in schools triggered a huge public uproar forcing the hands of policymakers.
The vape tax is intended to price-out under-18s and discourage those who have never vaped or smoked previously from ever starting in conjunction with the disposables ban. - Ensuring Vaping Remains More Affordable Than Tobacco -
While Labour do intend to make vaping more expensive overall with their new duty, they are also planning on introducing several taxes on traditional tobacco products. According to the Daily Mail:
"According to Treasury figures smokers can expect to pay 54p more for a packet of 20 cigarettes, while 30g of rolling tobacco will have an extra £2.32 added to the price. There will also be a 27p jump per 10g of cigars, a 35p rise for 30g of pipe tobacco and a price increase of 13p for a 6g pack of heating tobacco - a move that will be a bitter pill to swallow for smokers."
Starmer's Labour have stated that despite the duty on vaping, they intend to make tobacco even more costly, to preserve some appeal for those who want to use vaping as their chosen alternative.
When Will The UK Vape Tax Come Into Effect?
The most recent information from the UK government tells us that the vape duty will take effect from the 1st October 2026. That gives vapers like you and retailers like us two years to prepare for the impact it will undoubtedly have on personal budgets and businesses profits alike.
We do not currently know if the decision will evolve into a tiered structure based on nicotine content, as was the original proposition by the former Conservative party. Every vaping brand currently operating in the UK will have to work hard to balance potential price increases against customer budgets. At the same time vapers must begin thinking about how e-liquid becoming more expensive impacts their buying habits.
If you have an EDGE Vaping account for our online vape shop, we encourage you to sign up to our email newsletters as we will make every effort to communicate any future pricing changes as early as possible to ensure we can continue supporting you on your vaping journey.
What Products Will The UK Vape Tax Affect?
Currently the 2026 vaping duty is set to target e-liquids exclusively. There has been no mention of anything relating to vape kits, pods or coils. This means the likes of EDGE Core, Elite and bar salts will all be captured within the new duty.
Brands like Elf Bar, Lost Mary and SKE Crystal, who rely on importing their 10ml bottled vape juice ranges from China will potentially be hit hardest, as they will face the myriad costs of importation, bonded warehousing and more, in conjunction with the new 22p per ml duty. This means vapers who enjoy Elfliq and Maryliq etc may see their favourites become vastly more expensive, if the brands behind them even choose to continue importing them after the tax.
Thankfully brands like EDGE have more flexibility to adapt to the tax. Being made in the UK not only means we offer quality you can trust, but also means we do not have to factor in expensive import duties on top of the new tax in 2026.
How Much Will E-Liquid Cost In The UK After The Vape Tax?
While it is hard to say exactly how different brands will choose to factor the new duty into their e-liquid pricing, we can make a face-value estimate based on the current information from the Labour Budget.
Brands like ours that have always focussed on value will likely see a smaller increase in price than the likes of Elf Bar or Lost Mary, whose 10ml products start at circa £4.99. The latter could see their e-liquids jump to as much as £7.19 for a single 10ml bottle. Shortfill e-liquids in particular will be hit hardest, as of course they are the largest volume examples of e-liquids on the market, and so will have the most tax applied.
We will be sure to inform all EDGE customers of any changes to our pricing as soon as decisions have been made in response to the 2026 vaping duty. We have 2 years before the tax takes effect, so there is no need to panic - you will have plenty of time to adapt and plan ahead to decide how vaping will work for you after the duty hits.
How Will Best-Selling Vape Brands Respond To The Tax?
As with any news of tax increases, he revelation by Rachel Reeves has generated plenty of backlash. Unsurprisingly big tobacco companies are in favour of the tax, likely seeing it as a leveller vs the rising duties tobacco products continue to face in a country where smoking is in decline and on the Government's hit-list. While speculatory, it is fair to assume anything that might drive vapers back to cigarettes will ultimately be seen as a boon by those who control their purse-strings.
For vaping advocates and businesses however opinions have been mixed to negative. Quoting from the Daily Mail:
"Asli Ertonguc, Head of BAT (British-American Tobacco) UK & Western Europe, told MailOnline: 'We have long supported the introduction of a low excise on e-liquids that enables improved oversight, administration, and enforcement of the e-cigarette supply chain in the UK. The decision to move to a flat rate levy is welcomed as it will allow for easier administration and aid excise collection.'
'However, we strongly encourage the Government to implement a vape excise in 2025 rather than October 2026 to tackle the illicit market that is already prolific in the UK.'
Greig Fowler, director at VPZ, said: 'Vaping is the most effective way for people to quit smoking and continues to transform the health and financial wellbeing of smokers throughout the country.'
Further increasing taxes on vaping will directly penalise and make products prohibitive for the most vulnerable in society at a time when many are doing their best to make positive life choices.'
'The idea of raising tobacco duty to encourage more smokers to switch, whilst at the same time introducing a punitive vaping tax, is fundamentally flawed and will only punish people looking to quit smoking.'
'There is a genuine fear that any move in this direction will further fuel the illicit black market and act as a deterrent for people looking to quit, which will hugely damage the progress we have made in reaching the UK's 2030 Smoke Free ambitions.'
'Rather than increasing taxation, the Government needs to take on board our recommendations and implement a licencing scheme where there are proper enforcement and policing in place to tackle youth uptake and the existing black market,'.
What Can Vapers Do To Get Ahead Of The UK E-Liquid Tax?
As the date for the new duty on e-liquids is set for 2026, there really isn't much you need to do in response right now. There is no need for panic buying - we've only just heard the news ourselves and so nothing is going to change quickly.
Eventually, it's true that there could be price increases to bottles of e-liquid, although at EDGE we will do everything we can to mitigate the impact to our customers, it is simply to early to say how future pricing structures will look.
All vapers loyal to particular brands should keep their eyes peeled in the coming weeks and months for updates about any changes the tax may bring about. Signing up to email newsletters is a great way to keep on top of the latest news.
UK Vape Tax FAQs
To ensure you have the best understanding of the e-liquid duty's implications as a vaper, we have explained some extra FAQs you may ask:
Why Buy Disposable Vape Alternatives From The EDGE Online Vape Shop?
If you're new to EDGE Vaping or just want to learn a little bit more about our brand, we'd like to share why you should give us a try when looking for the perfect alternative to disposable vapes!
The UK's Number One E-Liquid Brand
According to the latest data, EDGE vaping's Core range is still the UK's number one freebase e-liquid brand, selling more bottles than any other competing brand in retailers across the country - A testament to our quality and customer satisfaction.
Available Everywhere
You're never far away from an EDGE vaping product meaning you will never struggle to top-up your favourite e-liquid flavours! Our disposable vape alternatives are available online both from our own store and other leading online vape retailers, as well as in thousands of stores UK-wide including Morrisons, The Co-Op and Sainsbury's.
60,000+ E-Liquids Sold Every Month
Circa 60,000 EDGE E-liquids are sold through our online store every month, not including the thousands more distributed to retailers all across the UK.
300,000+ Happy Customers
We regularly serve over 326,000 happy customers through our online store alone - not to mention the thousands more who buy their EDGE Vaping products from offline retailers across the country.
Affordable Quality and Freedom Of Choice
EDGE customers regularly tell both ourselves and the retailers that stock our ranges that EDGE is their trusted go-to because they love our dependable quality, affordable pricing and the range of flavours and nicotine strengths we offer.
Helping People Achieve a Healthier Lifestyle
While not risk free, vaping is confirmed to be at least 95% less harmful than smoking tobacco. As a part of the UK Government's Swap To Stop Scheme EDGE vaping products are officially provided by Stop Smoking Services across the country including via North Yorkshire and Bury County Councils.
Written By Oliver Norman
Our resident vaping expert with 9 years of industry experience including using vaping to quit a 30+ cigarette per day smoking habit. Ollie has worked in a massive range of roles over the years; from bottling on the shop floor to mixing e-liquid in the cleanroom, heading up Tech Ops and flavour development in the lab and beyond.
Ollie has been with EDGE for nearly a decade and now heads up our content marketing team making sure our customers get the best quality information to make informed choices on their vaping journeys. He is a one-stop-shop of vaping knowledge from scientific technical info to current vaping trends, vape juice to vape kits and all points in-between - he's keen to share it all with you, from one vaper to another!