Vape News & Latest Vaping Updates

One month after the introduction of the UK's new Vaping Products Duty, we look at what has changed, why vape prices are likely to increase, and why Vape Town customers haven't seen a price rise yet. We also explain the new rules on free samples, promotional discounts and advertising.

It has now been just over a month since the UK Government introduced the new Vaping Products Duty (VPD), marking one of the biggest changes to the vaping industry in recent years. Since 1 October 2026, a new tax has applied to vaping liquids manufactured in or imported into the UK, introducing additional costs throughout an industry that has already experienced considerable changes over the past few years. For vape manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and, ultimately, customers, the introduction of VPD represents a significant change to the way vaping products are taxed and supplied.

But what does it actually mean for vapers? Are prices going to increase? If so, by how much? Why haven't all vape shops increased their prices yet? Why are some products likely to become more expensive before others? And what are the additional rules surrounding advertising, promotions and free samples that came into force at the end of October? Here at Vape Town, we believe customers have the right to understand what's going on in regards to changes within the vaping industry, particularly when these changes to taxation and legislation could affect how much they pay for their vaping supplies.

So, with one month having passed since the introduction of the VPD, we wanted to explain what's happened so far, what is likely to happen over the coming months, and why our prices have remained unchanged.

What is the Vaping Products Duty?

The Vaping Products Duty, commonly referred to as VPD, is a new excise duty introduced by the UK Government on 1 October 2026. Its purpose is to introduce a specific tax on vaping liquids, bringing them into a similar taxation framework to other products that are subject to excise duties.

The new duty is charged at a flat rate of £2.20 for every 10ml of vaping liquid. Importantly, this applies to vaping liquids whether they contain nicotine or are nicotine-free. It also applies regardless of the flavour, nicotine strength or type of vaping liquid, provided the product falls within the legal definition of a vaping product.

This means products below can all fall within the scope of the new duty:

• Traditional 10ml nicotine salt e-liquids.
• Freebase nicotine e-liquids.
• Nicotine-free e-liquids.
• Shortfill e-liquids.
• E-liquid contained within prefilled pods and other vaping products..

The tax is calculated according to the amount of liquid within the product or bottle, rather than its retail selling price. To understand what this means for the pennies, it is worth looking at the figures. The Government's actual duty rate is £2.20 per 10ml. However, when considering the potential additional cost to customers, we also need to account for VAT. Assuming the full duty is passed on through the retail price, and the additional amount is subject to standard-rate VAT of 20%, the potential customer-facing cost is £2.64 per 10ml.

Here is how that works across different product sizes:

E-liquid volume	VPD	Including 20% VAT
2ml	£0.44	£0.53
5ml	£1.10	£1.32
10ml	£2.20	£2.64
20ml	£4.40	£5.28
50ml	£11.00	£13.20
100ml	£22.00	£26.40

 

These figures show why the introduction of VPD could have a substantial effect on the cost of e-liquids, especially when it comes to shortfill e-liquids. It's very important to remember that the duty itself is initially paid by manufacturers, importers and approved warehouses.. However, businesses throughout the supply chain will need to account for the additional cost, and manufacturers and suppliers will make commercial decisions about how much of that cost is passed on.

 

Does the new vape tax apply to everything?

One thing that is definitely worth clearing up is that the VPD is a tax on vaping liquid, not on devices, batteries, tanks, pods or coils. . However, products containing e-liquid are different. For example, prefilled pods and prefilled pod kits contain vaping liquid, so the liquid inside them is subject to VPD. The same principle applies to other products containing vaping liquid, such as pre-filled vape kits and pods. It is important to note that not every product in vape shops will be affected by the new duty tax.

If you are purchasing replacement coils, replacement refillable pods or refillable vape kits, you should not expect the same VPD-related increase as buying a bottle of e-liquid. Of course, businesses may still experience other changes in manufacturing and supply costs, but the £2.20 duty is specifically calculated on the e-liquid itself and applies per 10ml of e-liquid.

Are vape prices going to increase?

This is probably the biggest asked question by customers since the announcement of this new tax. The easiest answer is that prices are going to change as the industry moves from pre-VPD stock to products manufactured or imported under the new VPD arrangements. However, it is important to understand that this doesn't necessarily mean every vape product will increase in price by exactly £2.64 per 10ml. The duty is a fixed cost, but the eventual retail price will depend on several factors.

1. Manufacturers and wholesalers

The first impact will be felt by those that are higher up on the product supply chain. Manufacturers and importers will need to account for the new duty tax when they are bringing in e-liquid lines into the UK. Wholesalers will then purchase products that already reflect the additional tax and their own commercial costs.

Some manufacturers on the market may decide to absorb part of the duty tax to remain competitive, while others may choose to increase prices to include the duty tax. This means that you could see different price increases across multiple different products and brands.

2. The size of the product

Because the tax is based on e-liquid quantity, shortfill e-liquids and larger e-liquid bottles will naturally attract more duty. For example, a 50ml shortfill attracts £11 in VPD, equivalent to £13.20 when the additional amount is passed on with VAT. A 100ml bottle attracts £22 in duty, equivalent to £26.40 including VAT if fully passed on. For customers who regularly purchase larger quantities of e-liquid, this could become a significant consideration when comparing prices.

3. VAT and other business costs

The VPD is not the only cost that businesses have to consider. VAT and usual costs associated with manufacturing, importing, distribution, staffing, rent, utilities and running a retail business will all still apply. The effect on businesses will depend entirely on how each retailer chooses to manage the new pricing and costs.

4. Competition between retailers

Some businesses may increase prices quickly, or they may even choose to absorb part of the increase to maintain their existing prices, or they could also find some sort of ideal balance between the two. There isn't a single price increase that will be exactly the same for every vape shop, the price increases will vary depending on factors such as whether they're imported or manufactured in the UK.

What is clear is that the new duty introduces an additional cost into the supply chain, and customers are likely to see the effects as new duty-paid stock becomes more widely available.

 

Why haven't Vape Town prices increased?

This is where we want to explain our position. Customers may have noticed that, despite the introduction of the VPD on 1 October, our prices have remained the same as they were before the new tax came into force.

There is a very simple reason for this.

We planned ahead and purchased sufficient stock to see us through until April.

We knew the new duty was coming up and understood that it would create additional costs for businesses buying vaping products after the introduction of the VPD. Rather than immediately changing our prices to reflect the prices that they will be at for e-liquid when they include the duty tax to our customers, we made the decision to purchase stock in advance.

By doing this, we were able to make sure that we have enough stock to keep us going in the bridge time between 1st October and 1st April, meaning that we can carry on selling qualifying pre-VPD stock at our original prices.

We recognised that the roll out of this new duty tax could put financial pressure on our customers, especially those that stock up on a regular basis. Having recognised this, we wanted to give ourselves and our customers some breathing space before having to purchase and sell products under the new duty arrangements. This is why all of our highly-valued customers haven't seen an immediate price increase here at Vape Town.

It isn't because the new tax doesn't apply to the vaping industry, and it certainly doesn't mean that manufacturers and wholesalers are not facing additional costs. It simply means that we planned ahead.

Will all our prices stay the same until April?

Not necessarily. Although we purchased enough stock with the intention of seeing us through until April, different products sell at different rates.

Some popular e-liquids, nicotine salts and prefilled pods may sell through their existing stock more quickly than other products. This means that we could find ourselves needing to purchase replacement stock for certain products before others.

When that replacement stock has been manufactured or imported under the new duty arrangements, it will carry the additional cost. As a result of this, customers may see individual product prices change at different times rather than seeing one large price increase across the entire Vape Town website.

As an example, we may still have plenty of qualifying stock from before the VPD of one particular e-liquid while another flavour or even a different nicotine strength of the same flavour has already moved onto duty-paid replacement stock. There is also the possibility of new products being introduced during the transitional period.

If a product is manufactured or imported at any point from 1 October 2026, any and all of these products will need to meet VPD requirements, even if older products in the same category are still available at their previous prices, the newly manufactured products will be sold at the new pricing points. This is why it is important to understand that the transition will happen gradually.

We aim to continue selling our products at our original prices for as long as we possibly can, though this is entirely dependent on stock as many of our customers are now buying in bulk. We can't guarantee that each product will remain at their current prices until the cut off point on April 1st 2027, but what we can do is explain why our prices haven't increased straight away.

What is the transitional period and why does it matter?

The Government recognised that introducing this new tax in an overnight instance would cause big problems for retailers, manufacturers and distributor chains. It would have been unrealistic for the government to expect every retailer to replace their entire stock overnight.

For this reason, a transitional period was introduced. Any products that are manufactured or imported into the UK before 1 October 2026 can continue to be sold without the new duty stamp until 31 March 2027, provided they qualify for the transitional arrangements. This gives retailers enough time to sell through stock before the requirements come into full effect.

The key thing that needs to be considered is whether the product was manufactured before or after October 1st 2026. The best thing for retailers to do is to ensure that they keep careful watch on the products that they stock, when the product was manufactured and whether it is a product that qualifies for the VPD Duty Tax. It would also be best practice to keep hold of any invoices, delivery packing notes and any relevant commercial documentation that they have or receive.

From 1 April 2027, all vaping products that were manufactured before the duty tax came into effect must also carry the appropriate duty stamp. For Vape Town, purchasing a larger amount of stock in advance was an important part of preparing for this transition to the new approach to pricing and duty tax.

What are vaping duty stamps?

Alongside the new tax, the Government has introduced a vaping duty stamp scheme. The purpose of the scheme is to help identify legitimate vaping products intended for the UK market and make it easier for enforcement authorities to identify products that have not complied with the new duty arrangements.

Products manufactured or imported for the UK market under the new system must have the appropriate duty stamp before being released onto the market, unless they are covered by an applicable duty suspension arrangement. The stamps are designed to be tamper-evident and are attached to the outermost retail packaging and they are designed to indicate that they meet the VPD requirements and qualify for sale.

The introduction of the scheme is also taking place in stages. From 1 January 2027, digital functionality becomes mandatory for new products manufactured in or imported into the UK.

The idea behind this in the long-term is to improve the product traceability through the entire supply chain and to make it much easier for everyone to check the product's authenticity.

Retailers who only sell or distribute duty-paid vaping products do not need to apply for their own VPD approval simply to sell those products. However, they do have responsibilities when purchasing and selling stock.

They should check that new stock has the appropriate stamp where required, find out exactly where products have come from and keep hold of any suitable records. This is particularly important when dealing with unstamped products during the transitional period.

Customers may end up seeing both old and new stock carrying the new duty markings, this does not mean that unstamped stock is illegal, provided it qualifies for the transitional arrangements. The introduction of duty stamps is also intended to assist in trying to resolve the issue of counterfeit and illicit sales of vaping products, which has been a growing concern for legitimate retailers. By making it easier to identify products that are within the UK supply chain and have become so through the correct channels, the Government hopes to improve compliance and make enforcement more effective.

The new rules on free samples and promotional giveaways

Another change of rules came into place on 29 October 2026. As well as the new VPD legislation, changes to the rules on free samples, giveaways and substantial discounts have also been introduced.

Under the new legislation, businesses can no longer give away vaping or nicotine products to members of the public where the purpose or effect is to promote those products. This includes free samples.

For example, retailers can no longer offer a free bottle of e-liquid to get a customer to try a particular product, which includes nicotine shots,. The restrictions also cover promotional giveaways involving vaping products and related promotional discount coupons. This includes giveaways that take place in high-street stores, online promotion or through third-party alternatives.

The rules cover a wide range of products, including:

• Vape devices.
• E-liquids.
  
• Prefilled vape pods.
  
• Refillable pods.
  
• Other vaping components covered by the legislation.
  
• Nicotine products such as nicotine pouches.
  

The legislation also covers products that are given away in order to promote vaping products, not just the products themselves. There are limited exceptions, including certain arrangements made by public authorities for public health purposes. For retailers though, it is exceptionally clear that any giveaways and free samples are now strictly prohibited.

What about discounts and special offers?

The new rules also address substantial discounts. From 29 October 2026, businesses and retailers alike are not allowed to sell vaping or nicotine products at a substantial discount where the reasoning of discount is to promote the aforementioned products.

The Government introduced this measure to prevent businesses from getting around the free-giveaway restrictions by selling products for a token amount instead.

As a very obvious example, offering a vape product for just 10p as a promotional cost would likely fall within the new restrictions. However, it is important to understand that the legislation does not introduce a blanket ban on every price reduction. The Government's guidance makes a distinction between promotional discounts and normal retail discounting.

Businesses can continue to reduce the price of unsold stock as part of normal business activities. Bulk and trade discounts can also continue to apply. The important question is whether a particular price reduction is substantial and whether its purpose or effect is to promote the relevant products.

This is something retailers need to strongly take into account when planning their pricing policies. For customers, it means that the types of promotions that they may have previously seen across parts of the vaping industry may become far less common. Free products, sample offers and heavily discounted products are no longer something retailers can make use of in order to entice new or existing customers.

The rules apply to online retailers just as they do to traditional high street shops.

What has changed with vape advertising?

The October changes have also created questions about advertising, particularly because the Government is planning further restrictions in 2027. It is important to separate the rules that have already come into force from those that are still to come.

There are already restrictions on advertising nicotine-containing vaping products. Under the existing advertising rules, most online advertising of unlicensed nicotine-containing e-cigarettes is prohibited.

There is limited scope for retailers to provide factual product information on their own websites and other non-paid online spaces under their control. However, this information must remain factual rather than promotional.

For example, factual information can include:

• Product names.
  
• E-liquid quantity.
  
• Nicotine strength.
  
• Product ingredients.
  
• Device specifications.
  
• Instructions for use and storage.
  
• Objective descriptions of product features.
  

Exaggerated language for promotional purposes, health claims without any support, promotional testimonies, and encouraging marketing techniques can also cause issues.

The content, wording and overall impression all matter. The Advertising Standards Authority has provided guidance to help businesses understand the difference between factual information and promotional advertising.

The bigger advertising changes coming in June 2027

The Government is also planning to apply a much wider ban on advertising and sponsorship. The intention is for the restrictions introduced by the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 to come into force on 1 June 2027. These measures are meant to cover advertising and sponsorship across a much wider range of media.

The proposed changes include restrictions on:

• Online advertising.
  
• Paid digital advertising.
  
• Promotional social media advertising.
  
• Sponsorship arrangements.
  
• Advertising campaigns promoting vaping products.
  
• Other commercial communications designed to promote vaping and nicotine products.
  

Importantly, the Government has explained that retailers will still be able to provide factual information about products on their own websites, as long as the information isn't promotional. Customers will still need to be able to access information about the products they are purchasing, but businesses will need to be increasingly careful about how that information is presented.

The overall direction of the legislation is less promotional marketing and more restrictions on activities intended to encourage the use of vaping and nicotine related products. Retailers should not wait until June 2027 to review their websites and marketing practices.. Existing restrictions on advertising as well as the newer rules on distribution and promotional discounts are already in place.

What does all this mean for vape customers?

For customers, the changes will be felt in several different ways in the lead up to April 1st 2026. The first thing to address is pricing. As retailers gradually switch over from pre-VPD stock to products carrying the new duty stamps, customers will see changes to the prices of some vaping products. The amount of any increase will vary across different stores and will depend on the product, and how each individual business chooses to manage the inclusion of the duty pricing.

The second change has been made to promotions. Free samples and giveaways are no longer permitted, and substantial promotional discounts are highly restricted. Due to this, when customers are going into their local vape shop or ordering online, they may notice that there will be far fewer deals than they have become accustomed to.

The third change relates to product packaging and duty stamps. As more duty-included stock comes into stores, customers will see more and more products carrying the new duty markings in preparation for the deadline on April 1st 2027. These stamps are intended to help to identify legitimate products supplied under the new arrangements. It is also worth remembering that the duty only applies to the e-liquid, and doesn't apply to hardware such as coils, tanks and refillable vape kits or devices.

Finally, there is a wider change in the way vape businesses will communicate with customers. The industry is moving towards a more tightly regulated advertising environment, and retailers will need to ensure their websites and other communications comply with the changing legislation. For anyone who regularly purchases vaping products, understanding these changes will become increasingly important.

Why planning ahead matters for vape retailers

The introduction of the VPD shows how important pre-planning has become for businesses within the vaping industry. Retailers have had to consider not only the new duty tax, but also the timing of stock purchases, supplier arrangements, cash flow and the potential impact of price increases on customers.

Buying stock ahead of the introduction of a new tax isn't an easy decision to make as businesses need to balance the cost of holding additional inventory against the possibility of future price increases. For both distributors and retailers, it will be best practice to be sure that their stock is sourced from a legitimate supplier and also to ensure that all products meet the necessary requirements of the duty tax.

For Vape Town, purchasing sufficient stock ahead of the October deadline was a way of managing the transition and avoiding an increase of pricing straight away. However, stock management is an ongoing process. Different products have different sales rates, and retailers need to monitor individual product lines rather than simply looking at their overall stock levels.

The coming months will be very important as manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers adapt to the new requirements.

Looking ahead: What happens next?

With the VPD now in full effect and the new promotional restrictions now introduced, the vaping industry is entering another period of adjustment. There are several important dates customers and retailers should both be sure to be aware of.

1 October 2026 – Vaping Products Duty introduced

The new £2.20 per 10ml duty tax rolled out. Products manufactured or imported on or after this date became subject to the duty and applicable stamping requirements.

29 October 2026 – New giveaway and discount restrictions

The new restrictions on free samples, giveaways and substantial discounts came into effect. The age-of-sale rules were also extended to cover all vaping products and non-medicinal nicotine products.

31 December 2026 – End of transitional stamp arrangements

Transitional stamps without digital functionality can be used on qualifying new products until this date.

1 January 2027 – Digital duty stamp functionality

Digital functionality becomes mandatory for new products manufactured in or imported into the UK.

31 March 2027 – End of the transitional period for qualifying pre-VPD stock

Retailers can continue to sell stock that is unstamped and was manufactured before October 1st 2026 up until this date.

1 April 2027 – Duty stamps required on all relevant vaping products outside duty suspension

Retailers are no longer allowed to sell any e-liquid or any other vaping products that are not duty stamped or covered by an applicable duty suspension arrangement.

1 June 2027 – Planned introduction of the wider advertising and sponsorship ban

The Government is set to introduce the comprehensive advertising and sponsorship restrictions under the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026.

These dates show that the introduction of the VPD is only one part of a much wider plan of regulation changes.

Our final thoughts

One month on from the introduction of the Vaping Products Duty, it is becoming clearer that the impact will be felt gradually rather than through one immediate change across the entire industry. The additional £2.20 per 10ml tax is a significant new cost, and there is little doubt that it will influence the way vaping products are priced in the future. When VAT is taken into account, the potential additional customer-facing cost rises to £2.64 per 10ml if the full duty is passed through.

However, the speed and scale of those changes will vary between manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. At Vape Town, we made the decision to plan ahead and purchase enough stock to help us maintain our existing prices for as long as our qualifying pre-VPD stock arrangements allow. That is why our prices haven't changed immediately following the introduction of the new tax.

We also recognise that the industry is changing in other ways. The restrictions on free samples, giveaways and promotional discounts have already taken full effect, while further advertising restrictions are planned for next year. For customers, this means a vaping market that is likely to look quite different over the next 12 months. Our aim with this article is simply to explain what is happening, why it is happening and what it could mean when purchasing vaping products in the future.

We believe that it is important to provide clear information, particularly when considering that legislation and taxation can be confusing subjects. We will continue to keep our customers as well informed as we possibly can the more that the new rules develop.