Rachel Reeves has announced a tax hike on vaping products in today’s budget as part of a plan to reduce smoking among children.
She also announced a further 10% duty hike on hand-rolling tobacco this year, along with the new flat rate duty on all vape liquid from October 2026.
The move comes as part of Labour’s war on vaping, which has also seen them announce a ban on disposable vapes set to take effect on June 1 next year .
In March, former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the Conservative government would be implementing its own tax on vaping products as part of a wider move to make smoking unafforadable for young people, which Labour said they would honour upon taking office.
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It goes hand-in-hand with a further rise in tobacco duty, also announced today, which seeks to discourage children priced out of vaping not to start smoking.
The Treasury estimates Hunt’s vape tax, once implemented by Labour, could raise £120m in 2026-27, rising to £445m by 2028-29.
Vape use in the UK is estimated to have grown by 400% between 2012 and 2023, and around 9.1% of the population is now believed to buy and use them.
A public health source told the Guardian the sector had been expecting the government’s tobacco and vapes bill to be tabled at the start of this month, and that the delay could indicate changes being announced in the budget.
Defra’s circular economy minister, Mary Creagh, said disposable vapes were ‘extremely wasteful and blight our towns and cities.
‘That is why we are banning single use vapes as we end this nation’s throwaway culture,’ she added.
‘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.’
Health minister Andrew Gwynne said: ‘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.
‘Banning disposable vapes will not only protect the environment, but importantly reduce the appeal of vapes to children and keep them out of the hands of vulnerable young people.’
Around 48% of of children caught vaping are less than eleven years old, research has found.
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