Tax increases on vapes and cigarettes follow disposable vape ban

The tax rises have been broadly welcomed to help protect health and the environment but there are concerns rising vape costs could undermine progress in reducing smoking

Vaping and smoking will become more expensive following tax changes announced in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ October budget.

There will be a tax on vapes of £2.20 per 10ml of e-cigarette liquid and an equivalent  increase of £2.20 per 100 cigarettes in tobacco duty “to maintain the financial incentive” to switch from tobacco to vaping. This will apply from October 2026.

Reeves also brought in immediate above-inflation increases of 2% on tobacco and 10% for hand-rolled tobacco. This followed an announcement that single-use disposable vapes will be banned in England and Wales from June 2025. The government is also considering a ban on smoking outside schools and hospitals.

A ban on single use vapes has been on the agenda for some time. Almost five million are thrown away each week in the UK. Mary Creagh, Circular Economy Minister called them “extremely wasteful” and said they “blight our towns and cities”. 

She said: “This is the first step on the road to a circular economy, where we use resources for longer, reduce waste, accelerate the path to net-zero and create thousands of jobs across the country.”

Andrew Gwynne, Minister for Public Health and Prevention added: “It’s deeply worrying that a quarter of 11-15-year-olds used a vape last year and we know disposables are the product of choice for the majority of kids vaping today.”

Hazel Cheeseman, Chief Executive at Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) described the tobacco tax rises as “necessary” to encourage smokers to quit and reduce the burden of smoking on public finances.

“An excise tax on vapes will reduce access to cheap products for children by both reducing affordability and creating more powers to tackle illegal imports. Border Force and HMRC have been central to the reductions in the illicit tobacco market and will be able now to play the same role on vapes.”

However, Cheeseman cautioned that the tax increases would be felt by customers, rather than tobacco companies: “The Chancellor could have raised an additional £700 million through a levy structured to reduce their profitability and cap their prices.” 

“Disposable vapes are the last thing our children and the planet need. For too long the market has been allowed to grow unchecked.” 

Libby Peake, Head of Resources at the Green Alliance commented: “Disposable vapes are the last thing our children and the planet need. For too long the market has been allowed to grow unchecked.

“When they’re littered, the nicotine, plastic and batteries they contain are all extremely harmful. The government is right to ban these harmful devices – it’s a welcome step in the journey towards an economy where waste is reduced by design.”

Dr Sarah Jackson, Principal Research Fellow, UCL Tobacco and Alcohol Research Group broadly welcomed the changes but voiced concerns about “unintended consequences”.

She said: “It will make vaping less affordable for young people and might therefore help to reduce youth vaping rates. However, it will also make it more expensive for people to use e-cigarettes to stop smoking. 

“This could undermine progress in reducing smoking, which is the much more harmful behaviour. Unintended consequences could be greater for more disadvantaged groups who are more likely to smoke, but have less money to spend.”