White boxes. No bright colours. No cartoon graphics. No names such as “Unicorn Dream” or “Mint Blast”.
If the government’s latest proposals become law, that could be the future of vape packaging and device design in the UK.
On 10 July 2026, the UK government and the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland launched a formal 12-week consultation covering the packaging, appearance and retail display of tobacco, vaping and nicotine products.
The proposals include plain white vape packaging, severe restrictions on branding, limits on device colours and flavour descriptions, and plans to keep vaping products out of sight in shops.
However, it is important to be clear: these are consultation proposals, not rules currently in force. Further regulations would be required before any of the changes could become law.
The consultation closes at 11:59pm on 2 October 2026, and anyone can respond through the official government consultation website.
What Exactly Is Being Proposed?
The consultation covers tobacco, heated tobacco products, vapes and other non-medicinal nicotine products such as nicotine pouches.
For vaping products, the main proposals include:
Plain white packaging — vape kits, pods, coils, e-liquids and other vaping products would have to use white packaging with restrictions on branding, imagery, text colours and promotional features.
Uniform packaging — novelty shapes and materials designed to make packaging more attractive could be restricted. This could include glossy plastics, holographic foils and tactile finishes.
Device colour restrictions — visible parts of vape devices would be limited to white, black or grey, with one colour per device, a matt finish and no variation in shade or opacity.
Restrictions on lights — decorative or cosmetic lights intended to increase a product’s appeal could be banned. Functional lights showing charging or device status would still be allowed.
Screen restrictions — digital screens could only display safety and status information, such as battery or e-liquid levels. Screens would be restricted to black, white and grey.
Limited branding on devices — imagery and artwork could be prohibited, while branding could be restricted to a single brand name displayed in a standard font, size and colour.
No imitation products — vapes could be prevented from looking like other items, including highlighter pens, water bottles and gaming devices.
Flavour-name restrictions — packaging would generally be limited to one recognised lead flavour, such as apple or strawberry. Combined names such as “blueberry-apple” could be prohibited.
Restrictions on sweet and concept names — names linked to sweets, desserts, cakes, alcohol, drinks or sensations could be removed. Examples given by the government include “Unicorn Dream”, “Mint Blast”, “Candy”, “Bubblegum”, “Cheesecake” and “Cola”.
Hidden retail displays — vaping and nicotine products would generally have to be kept out of sight in shops, with limited temporary displays permitted behind the sales counter when requested by a customer.
The consultation is focused on how flavours are described on packaging. It is not currently proposing a ban on the ingredients used to create flavours.
The government has been gathering separate evidence about ingredients, substances, emissions and nicotine levels. Further proposals covering those areas could follow at a later date.
Would Vape Shops Be Exempt?
Under the current proposal, specialist vape shops would not receive a general exemption from the display restrictions.
That means products in a dedicated adult vape shop could still have to be kept behind closed display units or otherwise hidden from view.
The government is considering a limited exemption for community pharmacies in England, Wales and Scotland. This could allow pharmacies to display certain vaping or nicotine products in locked transparent cabinets to support smokers who want to quit.
No equivalent exemption is currently proposed for specialist vape retailers.
Vaping products would also have their own separate price lists, rather than appearing on the same list as tobacco. These lists could include information such as nicotine strength and ingredients.
The proposed shop-display restrictions do not appear to require products to be hidden on ordinary online retail product pages. Online advertising and promotional content are being dealt with separately under the forthcoming advertising and sponsorship restrictions.
When Could the Changes Happen?
There is currently no confirmed date for plain vape packaging or hidden shop displays.
After the consultation closes, the governments involved will review the responses and publish an official response. Further regulations would then need to be developed and introduced.
The consultation proposes:
A minimum of 12 months’ notice once the final packaging and device requirements are made clear.
A minimum of six months’ notice once the final retail-display requirements are made clear.
The government says the wider package of tobacco and vaping regulations may be introduced in stages during the current Parliament, potentially running through to 2029.
In other words, colourful vape packaging is not disappearing overnight. The consultation is the beginning of the regulatory process rather than the final decision.
What the Government Says
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care James Murray said the government wanted to reduce the appeal of vaping products to children while retaining their role for adults who smoke.
“Vapes are less harmful than cigarettes and can play an important role in helping adult smokers to quit.”
He added that vaping products should not be designed or marketed in ways that tempt children and urged people to respond to the consultation.
The government announcement initially referred to ASH data showing that around one million 11 to 17-year-olds in Great Britain had tried vaping during 2025.
More recent ASH figures for 2026 estimate that:
19% of 11 to 17-year-olds have tried vaping, equivalent to approximately 1.1 million young people.
6% currently vape, equivalent to approximately 370,000 young people.
2% vape daily, equivalent to approximately 140,000 young people.
Those figures clearly show that youth vaping remains a serious concern. However, they also add some important context.
Current vaping doubled from 3% in 2021 to 7% in 2022, but has remained broadly stable since then. The percentage of young people who have ever tried vaping has also plateaued at approximately 18% to 20% since 2023.
What Could This Mean for Adult Smokers and Vapers?
This is where the government must strike a difficult balance.
Vapes are not risk-free and should not be used by children or people who have never smoked. However, they are also not cigarettes.
The NHS continues to advise that nicotine vaping is less harmful than smoking and can be an effective tool for quitting cigarettes.
According to ASH’s 2026 adult survey, approximately 5.5 million adults in Great Britain currently vape. Around 60% of them are former smokers, while another 32% continue to smoke as well as vape.
The same survey found that 52% of adults who currently smoke believe vaping is as harmful as, or more harmful than, smoking.
That level of misunderstanding should concern everyone involved in public health.
Applying tobacco-style display and packaging controls to vapes could reinforce the impression that the two products carry similar risks—particularly when they are both hidden behind closed retail units.
However, the proposals do not treat the products completely identically.
That level of misunderstanding should concern everyone involved in public health.
Applying tobacco-style display and packaging controls to vapes could reinforce the impression that the two products carry similar risks—particularly when they are both hidden behind closed retail units.
However, the proposals do not treat the products completely identically.Vape packaging would be white, while heated tobacco devices would use a drab dark-brown colour. Vape and nicotine products would also have separate price lists from tobacco products, allowing information such as nicotine strength and ingredients to be shown.
The government says these differences are intended to communicate that smoking is more harmful than vaping.
Public Health and Harm Reduction Reaction
Action on Smoking and Health welcomed the consultation, but also acknowledged the need for balance.
ASH Chief Executive Hazel Cheeseman said regulations should make vaping less appealing to children without making it less useful for adults trying to stop smoking.
Global Vape Regulation Is Splitting In Two Directions, the North East tobacco-control programme, also welcomed the proposals, including the restrictions on packaging, flavour names and retail displays.
The Global Vape Regulation Is Splitting In Two Directions took a very different position.
It warned that using similar packaging and display policies for vaping and smoking could drive adult smokers away from lower-risk alternatives and reinforce existing misunderstandings about relative harm.
Industry concerns have also been reported by the Retail Gazette, particularly around the effect of packaging and display restrictions on adult consumers and retailers.
Would Plain Packaging Actually Work?
There is evidence that standardised packaging could make vaping products less attractive to young people.
A King’s College London study published in 2025 found that 53% of young people believed their peers would be interested in trying vapes shown in ordinary branded packaging.
That figure fell to 38% when the same products were presented in standardised white packaging with black lettering.
Among adults, interest remained at a similar level regardless of whether the packaging was branded or standardised.
The researchers also found that standardised packaging did not significantly change how adults viewed the harm of vaping compared with smoking.
That suggests plain packaging could reduce youth appeal without necessarily deterring adults.
However, the study looked at responses to packaging images rather than the full effect of combining plain packaging with hidden retail displays, advertising restrictions, flavour-name limits and a new vaping duty.
The Bigger UK Vape Regulation Timeline
The packaging consultation is only one part of a much larger change in UK vaping regulation.
1 June 2025 — the UK-wide ban on the sale and supply of single-use vapes came into force.
1 October 2026 — Vaping products duty begins at £2.20 per 10ml of vaping liquid, regardless of whether the liquid contains nicotine.
29 October 2026 — sales of vapes through vending machines and the free distribution of vaping and nicotine products will be banned.
29 October 2026 — in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the under-18 sales restriction will extend to non-nicotine vapes and other nicotine products. Scotland already restricts sales of nicotine and non-nicotine vapes to under-18s.
1 January 2027 — the smoke-free generation rules begin, making it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009.
1 June 2027 — the government intends to introduce a comprehensive advertising and sponsorship ban for vaping and nicotine products.