Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026: what retailers need to do from 29 October 2026 and 1 January 2027

What is changing

The Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026. It changes the rules for selling tobacco products, herbal smoking products, cigarette papers, vaping products and nicotine products, in shops and online. The rules apply to sales by retail. The changes come in stages:

• 29 October 2026: most of the sale and distribution rules in Parts 1 to 3 come into force (section 175(1)). These include an age of sale of 18 for all vaping and nicotine products, bans on free distribution and substantial discounts, and a ban on vape and nicotine product vending machines.
• 1 January 2027: the new age of sale for tobacco starts (section 175(3)). It becomes an offence to sell tobacco products, herbal smoking products or cigarette papers to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009, and tobacco retailers must display a new age of sale notice.
• No date yet: retail licensing in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and rules on packaging, flavours and displays, need further regulations before they apply.

The Act makes separate provision for each nation. Part 1 applies in England and Wales, Part 2 amends the law in Scotland and Part 3 amends the law in Northern Ireland (section 174). The dates above are the same across the UK, but some details differ by nation.

This is separate from vaping products duty, which starts on 1 October 2026. See our update "Vaping products duty starts on 1 October 2026: what producers, importers and sellers must do".

From 29 October 2026: vapes, nicotine products, giveaways and vending machines

From 29 October 2026 it is an offence to sell a vaping product or nicotine product to anyone under 18 (section 10 for England and Wales). This covers all vapes and vaping liquids, whether or not they contain nicotine, and nicotine products such as nicotine pouches (sections 50 and 51). Medical devices and medicinal products are not included. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, this replaces the previous age restriction, which covered only nicotine vaping products.

You have a defence if you took the steps to check the customer's age that regulations will set out, or if you otherwise took all reasonable steps to avoid the offence (section 10(2)). The regulations setting out those steps have not yet been made. It is also an offence for anyone aged 18 or over to buy, or try to buy, a vaping or nicotine product for someone under 18 (section 11).

From the same date, for tobacco products, herbal smoking products, cigarette papers, vaping products and nicotine products:

• Free distribution and substantial discounts. It is an offence to give away a product or coupon to a member of the public, or sell one at a substantial discount, where the purpose is to promote one of these products, or where you know or have reason to suspect that will be the effect (section 15). A coupon includes an electronic code. There is a defence for giving away vaping or nicotine products under arrangements made by a public authority, such as a stop smoking service. GOV.UK guidance says normal price reductions on unsold stock and bulk or trade discounts are not affected.
• Vending machines. It is an offence for the person who manages or controls premises to have a vending machine available for use that sells or dispenses tobacco, herbal smoking products or cigarette papers (section 3), or vaping or nicotine products (section 12). The only exception is for vape vending machines in areas of mental health hospitals intended wholly or mainly for inpatients (section 12(2)).
• Unpackaged cigarettes. A tobacco retailer must not sell cigarettes that are not in their original retail packaging (section 4).
• Snus. Making, selling, offering for sale or possessing with intent to supply tobacco for oral use that is not chewed or inhaled, such as snus, are offences (sections 7 to 9).

From 1 January 2027: the new age of sale for tobacco

From 1 January 2027 it is an offence to sell any of the following to a person born on or after 1 January 2009 (section 1 for England and Wales):

• tobacco products, which includes cigarettes, hand-rolling tobacco, cigars, pipe tobacco, shisha tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco and heated tobacco
• herbal smoking products
• cigarette papers

The same change applies in Scotland (section 52, amending section 4 of the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2010) and Northern Ireland (section 72, replacing Article 3 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1978).

The rule is based on a fixed date of birth, not an age. A customer born on or after 1 January 2009 can never legally be sold these products, however old they are. You only need to establish whether the customer was born before 1 January 2009. The age of sale for vaping and nicotine products stays at 18.

As with vapes, you have a defence if you took the age-checking steps that regulations will specify, or otherwise took all reasonable steps (section 1(2)). It is an offence for anyone aged 18 or over to buy, or try to buy, these products for someone born on or after 1 January 2009 (section 2).

Until 31 December 2026, the current rule still applies: you must not sell tobacco or cigarette papers to anyone under 18. In England and Wales, from 29 October 2026 trading standards can give a £200 fixed penalty notice for that offence and for buying tobacco for under-18s (section 46). The under-18 tobacco offence in section 7 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 is repealed from 1 January 2027 (Schedule 7).

The rules apply to retail sales only, including online sales. GOV.UK guidance confirms they do not apply to wholesale sales to businesses.

Age of sale notices and displays

From 1 January 2027, if you sell tobacco products on premises in England you must display a notice containing this statement (section 5):

It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009

The notice must be in a prominent position where it is readily visible to people at each point of sale of tobacco products. The Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 (Age of Sale Notices and Consequential Amendments) (England) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/996) set the minimum sizes from 1 January 2027:

• the notice must be at least 297mm by 420mm (A3) (regulation 3)
• each character of the statement must be at least 21mm high (regulation 4)

You can design your own notice as long as it has the exact wording and meets the minimum sizes. DHSC has published printable notices on GOV.UK. Keep your current notice up until the new one is required.

SI 2026/996 also updates the tobacco display rules in England from 1 January 2027. You can only show tobacco products or a price list on request to a customer born before 1 January 2009, rather than one aged 18 or over. Bulk tobacconists that rely on the display exemption also have their exemption updated for the new age of sale, and the minimum character height of the statement on the notice they must display falls from 36mm to 21mm (regulation 5).

The ban on displaying tobacco products stays in place. The Act gives governments powers to make regulations on displays, packaging, product appearance and flavours for vapes, nicotine products and tobacco (sections 13, 14 and 94 to 96, section 64 for Scotland and Article 4K for Northern Ireland). No such regulations have been made. A UK-wide consultation closing on 2 October 2026 proposes, among other things, restricting shop displays of vapes in the same way as tobacco, plain packaging for vapes and limits on flavour names. These are proposals only and do not change the law.

Retailer registration and licensing

What you must do before selling depends on where you trade.

• England. There is no retailer register. The Act creates a licensing scheme: individuals will need a personal licence to sell, and a premises licence will be needed for premises used to store, expose for sale or supply tobacco, herbal smoking products, cigarette papers, vaping products or nicotine products (section 16 and Schedule 1). It only starts when the Secretary of State makes regulations setting a date and the details of how licences are granted (section 175(4)). No date has been set. Once it starts, selling without a licence will be an offence (section 17), and breaching a licence condition can bring a financial penalty of up to £2,500 (section 18).
• Wales. A similar licensing scheme (sections 19 to 21) starts on a date the Welsh Ministers set by order. No date has been set.
• Scotland. From 29 October 2026 the existing register is extended so that herbal smoking product and nicotine product businesses must also register (section 69 and Schedule 9, commenced by SSI 2026/210). The offence of carrying on those businesses without registering applies from 29 April 2027, which gives existing sellers 6 months to register.
• Northern Ireland. From 29 October 2026 the register under the Tobacco Retailers Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 is extended to vaping product and nicotine product businesses (section 87 and Schedule 10, commenced by SR 2026/152). Carrying on one of these businesses while unregistered is an offence under section 10 of the 2014 Act. From the same date the registration forms are updated to cover these products and use the name Northern Ireland Tobacco, Vape and Nicotine Retail Register (SR 2026/156). GOV.UK guidance says councils will be able to issue fixed penalty notices for running a vape or nicotine business while unregistered from 1 March 2027. Licensing in Northern Ireland (section 88) has no start date.