From 1 October 2026, the UK government is introducing what it officially calls the VPD. That’s not an STD – it’s short for Vaping Products Duty, which you probably think of as ‘the vape tax’.
Whatever you call it, every 10ml of e-liquid you buy is about to cost a lot more.
The duty is £2.20 per 10ml. With VAT on top, that’s £2.64 added to the price of every 10ml bottle. If you’re a heavy vaper getting through 10ml a day, that’s close to £80 more a month. If you’re a shortfill vaper, the numbers are even higher.
Below you’ll find exactly what you’ll pay, which products are affected, what the duty stamps scheme means for you, and what the evidence from other countries suggests will happen next.
Quick Summary
At a Glance
The key dates you need to know
There are three dates that matter. The first is 1 October 2026, when the duty kicks in. But 1 April 2027 is arguably more important – that’s when the grace period ends and it becomes a criminal offence to sell products without a duty stamp.
Exactly how much more will vaping cost? (And why you should avoid the prefilled pod pitfall)
Here’s the breakdown by product type. The duty is charged at source – when a product is manufactured, imported or released from a HMRC approved warehouse or store – and will be passed on to you in the shelf price.
2ml prefilled pods look cheap in that table. But a 2ml pod delivers far less liquid than a 10ml bottle, so if you’re reaching for pods because they seem like the lower-tax option, you’re likely to end up spending more overall, not less.
There’s also an environmental angle. If vapers switch to pods to limit their tax exposure, that means a lot more single-use plastic.
Here’s what the increases look like as a monthly figure, depending on how much you vape:
If you’re looking at those numbers and wondering how to reduce the impact, our guide to making your e-liquid last longer is worth a read – more efficient devices, in particular, can make a real difference to how much liquid you get through each week.
Will vaping still be cheaper than smoking after the tax?
Yes – but the gap narrows considerably, mostly because the UK government doesn’t understand key differences between smoking and vaping.
The government has tried to maintain a price differential between vaping and smoking. The October 2024 budget included a 10% increase in rolling tobacco duty and a one-off VAT increase on tobacco products, to try and keep cigarettes more expensive than vapes post-tax.
Unfortunately, the differential is based on flawed assumptions.
The original consultation compared the number of puffs from a 10ml bottle to those from 100 cigarettes. But puff counts are a poor measure.
Vapers take longer, slower draws than smokers, and the nicotine comparison tells a very different story. The average cigarette contains 11.9 to 14.5mg of nicotine, meaning 100 cigarettes deliver up to 1,450mg. The strongest e-liquid available contains around 200mg per 10ml – less than 20% of that figure.
But even setting that aside, “cheaper than legal cigarettes” is a lower bar than it sounds. Research by Professor Notley found that many young people who smoke already buy illegal tobacco, which is significantly cheaper than legal cigarettes and often cheaper than vaping too. ¹ For that group, the tax does nothing to improve the equation.
The government is betting that the price gap will be enough to stop vapers switching back to cigarettes. Based on what’s happened in other countries when vape taxes have been introduced, that’s optimistic.
Which products are affected by the vape tax?
The scope of the tax is broader than a lot of vapers expect. HMRC’s position is clear: if it’s designed to be vaped, it’s taxed, regardless of whether it contains nicotine.
Propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerine (VG) can be bought cheaply for non-vaping purposes. Once legal e-liquid becomes significantly more expensive, vapers are likely to buy these alongside food-grade flavourings and concentrated nicotine and mix their own.
The problem is that food flavourings are not tested for inhalation. While it’s hard to quantify the danger, if more people mix their own e-liquid vaping could become significantly more harmful.
What are duty stamps – and why do they matter to you?
Alongside the tax itself, the government is introducing a mandatory Vaping Duty Stamps scheme. From October 2026, every newly manufactured or imported vaping product must carry a physical duty stamp – a small rectangular label affixed to the outer packaging that seals it so it can’t be opened without breaking the stamp.
Products already in the supply chain before October 2026 can continue to be sold without a stamp during a grace period. But from 1 April 2027, selling any product without a duty stamp becomes a criminal offence.
As a consumer, the duty stamp is your assurance that a product has gone through legitimate supply channels and that duty has been paid. After April 2027, if you’re offered a vaping product without a visible duty stamp, it hasn’t been through the legal supply chain – and as we explain below, that’s a genuine health risk.
The black market problem
The black market for vapes in the UK is already enormous. According to Trading Standards, around one third of all vapes sold in the UK are already coming through illegal channels.
Testing has found that illegal products are significantly more harmful than legal ones with incorrectly labelled nicotine content and high levels of lead, nickel and chromium. The MHRA strongly advises against using non-compliant vapes because, in their words, "...the true content is unknown, along with any possible health risks."
Increasing the cost of legal vaping pushes more people toward that market. We’ve seen this play out elsewhere. When a vape tax was introduced in Italy, it led to a 70% fall in the number of vapers buying legal products and a corresponding surge in illegal imports. The number of vape shops fell from 4,000 to 1,000, costing around 10,000 retail jobs.
In Australia, where vaping required a prescription, a peer-reviewed study found that over 90% of an estimated 1.8 million vapers were obtaining their products illegally.
The duty stamp scheme should make it easier to identify illegal products in legitimate retail settings. Whether it makes a dent in the broader informal market – especially online and through social channels – is a much harder question.
Who actually benefits from this tax?
It’s worth asking who the winners are here. And one answer came from an unlikely source.
When vaping taxes were first floated, the CEO of British American Tobacco – one of the largest tobacco companies in the world – was asked for his reaction. This is what Tadeu Marroco said:
I think that could be a good idea. I think that we need more regulation.
Read that again. The head of British American Tobacco thinks a vape tax is a good idea.
A tax that makes vaping significantly more expensive – and pushes some vapers back to cigarettes – is good for tobacco company revenues. But it’s not good for vapers, and it’s not good for public health.
What will the tax mean for smoking rates?
The evidence on this is clear, and it’s uncomfortable for the government’s position.
Research in the USA found that a $1 increase in vape taxes leads to a significant fall in vaping rates and a corresponding rise in smoking rates. ⁷ A separate study by the same researcher found that vape taxes increase smoking among pregnant women by 6%.
These aren’t fringe findings – they’re published in peer-reviewed journals and the pattern is consistent.
The mechanism isn’t complicated. For many people, vaping is the cheaper, less harmful alternative to cigarettes. Make it more expensive, and some of them go back. Not all – but enough to matter.
The UK government’s own official position is that vaping is at least 95% less harmful than smoking. A policy that pushes even a small percentage of vapers back to cigarettes is very difficult to defend on public health grounds.
What can you do about it?
Here’s where I usually tell you to write to your MP or give you some hope the tax can be reversed.
But I think the tax is a done deal, and much of our work at the IBVTA has focussed on ensuring that surviving legitimate businesses can comply with it.
The best we can hope for is a case like in Italy, where the tax was such a disaster that it was eventually lowered. (Unfortunately, that only came after the industry had been decimated.)
On a practical level, though, there are things you can do to make vaping more efficient. Use low powered devices, avoid low nicotine e-liquid (most people vape more when they reduce the amount of nicotine) - and enjoy your favourite e-liquids while you still can!
FAQs
When does the UK vape tax start?
From 1 October 2026, all newly manufactured or imported vaping products must carry a duty stamp and have duty paid. Products already in the supply chain before October 2026 can continue to be sold without a stamp during a grace period that runs until 1 April 2027.
How much will vape juice cost after the tax?
The duty is £2.20 per 10ml. With VAT added, that’s £2.64 per 10ml on the shelf price. A 50ml shortfill will increase by £13.20; a 100ml shortfill by £26.40. A 2ml prefilled pod will increase by around 53p – though pods aren’t actually the cheaper option when you factor in how much liquid they contain.
Will vaping still be cheaper than smoking after the tax?
Yes, vaping will remain cheaper than legal cigarettes. A pack-a-day smoker currently spends around £450 a month on cigarettes. Even a heavy vaper, adding £79 a month in tax, will still be paying a fraction of that. But the gap narrows – and for shortfill vapers, it narrows considerably.
Will nicotine-free e-liquid be taxed?
Yes. HMRC’s position is that any substance intended for vaping is within scope, regardless of whether it contains nicotine. Shortfill bases, PG, VG, flavour concentrates and zero-nicotine liquids are all included.
Are nicotine pouches included in the vape tax?
No. Nicotine pouches are not currently included in Vaping Products Duty. The government consulted on whether to include them and decided against it – for now.
What are vaping duty stamps?
Physical labels required on all newly manufactured or imported vaping products from October 2026. They’re affixed to the outer packaging in a way that seals it, and include a digital tracking feature. Products already in the supply chain can be sold without a stamp until 1 April 2027. After that date, selling any product without a stamp is a criminal offence.
What happens if I buy vapes without a duty stamp after April 2027?
The duty stamp scheme primarily targets the supply chain rather than individual buyers. But products without a duty stamp after April 2027 have come through illegal channels. Retailers selling them will be committing a criminal offence, and HMRC has powers to seize unstamped stock. Persistent non-compliance can result in prison sentences of up to two years.
How does the final tax differ from the original proposals?
The original proposals had a three-tiered system: £1.00 per 10ml for zero-nicotine, £2.00 for low-nicotine, and £3.00 for standard strength. Scientists objected, pointing out that vapers self-titrate – they adjust how much they vape to get the nicotine they need. One study found that switching to lower-strength e-liquid caused vapers to double the amount they vaped. The tiered system was abandoned in favour of a flat rate of £2.20 per 10ml regardless of nicotine content.
What’s the current tax rate on vaping products?
Until October 2026, there is no specific excise duty on vaping products. They’re currently subject only to the standard 20% VAT rate.