On 1 June 2025, in England only, the Environmental Protection (Single-use Vapes) (England) Regulations 2024 (SI 2024/1216) will come into force, making it illegal for a person to supply single-use vapes in the course of a business whether or not such supply involves the exchange of money. This should hopefully allow businesses time to adapt and run down stocks. The law is intended to address the harms disposable vapes can cause for the environment, such as vapes ending up in landfill and creating fire and contamination risks, as well as the unknown long-term health risks including nicotine addiction. A single-use vape is defined as one that is not designed or intended to be reused. For a vape to be considered reusable it must be both rechargeable and refillable (not simply one or the other). The Welsh government has confirmed it will be in line with England after the UK government announced the same date for a ban with Scotland and Northern Ireland expected to follow suit.
Furthermore the Tobacco and Vapes Bill (TVB) has been introduced to parliament and will now make its way through the parliamentary process. The TVB is UK-wide and has been developed in partnership with the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. It builds on the existing legal frameworks of all four nations to create a cohesive legal approach to regulating tobacco and vaping products. The extent of the measures varies across the UK respecting the devolution settlement.
As drafted, amongst other things, the TVB will:
- Make it an offence to sell tobacco products to those born on or after 1 January 2009, thereby phasing out the sale of tobacco products, while not stopping anyone who currently legally smokes from being able to do so. This will mean anyone who turns 15 or younger in 2024 will never legally be sold tobacco products.
- Amend existing legislation to make it an offence for anyone over 18 to purchase tobacco products on behalf of those born on or after 1 January 2009 (proxy purchasing).
- Support the enforcement of the new measures by requiring retailers to update the current age of sale notices (or warning statements) to read: ‘It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009’.
- Make it an offence to sell non-nicotine vaping products to someone who is under 18 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland already has this in place.
- Provide enforcement authorities in England and Wales with the power to issue Fixed Penalty Notices of £100 for the underage sale of tobacco products and vaping products.
- Continue to apply existing penalties to give Trading Standards the ability to escalate to a level 4 fine (up to £2,500), as well as restricted premises orders and restricted sales orders for repeat offenders in England and Wales.
The TVB will now pass through the parliamentary process, and there are therefore various hoops which need to be jumped through before it is given Royal Assent and becomes law. In fact, until then, it cannot be 100% certain when it will become law or in exactly what form.