Vapers and smokers across the UK face higher prices from this week as new duties on vaping products and tobacco come into effect.
The changes begin on 1 October 2026, with a new tax applied to vaping liquid and an additional increase in tobacco duty. The government says the measures are designed to raise revenue while maintaining a financial incentive for smokers to switch from cigarettes to vaping.
New vape tax starts tomorrow
A new Vaping Products Duty will be charged at £2.20 per 10ml of vaping liquid from 1 October.
The duty will apply to all vaping liquids, including products that contain nicotine and those that are nicotine-free. It will also cover liquids used in refill bottles, cartridges and pods.
The tax is charged at a flat rate, rather than according to the strength of the liquid. This means a 10ml bottle containing a low concentration of nicotine will face the same duty as a 10ml bottle with a higher concentration.
Products manufactured in or imported into the UK will be subject to the new charge. Retailers will continue to apply VAT, meaning the duty itself adds £2.64 to the final price once 20 per cent VAT is included.
For example, a £4 bottle containing 10ml of vaping liquid could rise to £6.64 if the full cost of the duty and VAT is passed on to customers.
The exact price increase will vary between products and retailers. Businesses may absorb some of the cost, while others may pass the full amount on to shoppers.
Small pods will also be affected
The new duty will apply to pre-filled vaping products as well as refill liquids.
A 2ml pod will attract 44p in duty, based on the 22p-per-millilitre rate. A 10ml refill bottle will attract the full £2.20 charge.
Vaping products sold in the UK will also need to carry a vaping duty stamp under the new rules. The government says the system is intended to help HM Revenue and Customs identify products on which the correct duty has been paid.
Retail packaging must carry a valid vaping duty stamp from 1 April 2027, while the wider duty system begins on 1 October 2026.
Tobacco duty rises too
Cigarettes and other tobacco products will also become more expensive from Thursday.
Alongside the standard annual tobacco duty increase, the government is applying an additional rise of:
- £2.20 per 100 cigarettes.
- £2.20 per 50g of hand-rolling tobacco and other tobacco products.
The extra cigarette duty works out at 44p on a packet of 20 before other elements of the annual increase and any retailer pricing decisions are taken into account.
A 30g packet of rolling tobacco is expected to rise by around £2.54 in total, while a standard packet of 20 cigarettes could increase by about £1.21, depending on the product and retail price.
The final price paid by customers will vary between brands and shops.
Why is the government introducing the changes?
The government says the vaping duty is intended to reduce the appeal of vaping, particularly among young people and non-smokers, while keeping cigarettes more expensive than vaping.
It has therefore paired the new vape tax with an additional tobacco duty increase. The Treasury says this will preserve the price difference between the two products and maintain an incentive for smokers to switch from tobacco to vaping.
Health campaigners have generally supported measures designed to reduce nicotine use, but vaping businesses have warned that the flat-rate tax could have a particularly large effect on cheaper products.
Because the duty is charged by volume, rather than by price, it will represent a much larger proportion of the cost of budget e-liquids than premium products.
How much more could regular users pay?
The impact will depend on how much vaping liquid or tobacco a person buys.
Someone using one 10ml bottle of e-liquid each week could face an additional £2.64 per week if the full duty, including VAT, is passed on. That would amount to around £137 a year.
A smoker buying one packet of 20 cigarettes each week would face a smaller direct increase, although the cost would be considerably higher for someone smoking daily.
