Tobacco and Vapes Bill 2.0 introduced to Parliament – What’s changed?

Bringing back the smokefree generation and powers to curb youth vaping

The flagship measure of the Bill remains the legislation to raise the age of sale of tobacco. If it becomes law, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will ensure that people born on or after 1 January 2009 will never legally be sold tobacco in their lifetime across the UK, paving the way for the first ever smokefree generation. This is one of the biggest opportunities in over a decade for the Government to take action to prevent cancer. 

Smoking itself won’t be criminalised, and anyone who can currently legally be sold tobacco won’t be prevented from doing so in future.   

There is no safe way to use tobacco. That’s why we were happy to see that – like the previous Bill – the legislation would apply to all products that contain tobacco. 

While the tobacco industry and its allies have tried to argue that this may worsen the illicit market, when the age of sale for tobacco was increased from 16 to 18 in 2007, it had no impact on illicit sales. In addition, the age of sale legislation is designed to only affect those who were never legally allowed to smoke in the first place, so it does not logically follow that this bill would create a sudden influx of illicit trade. We also welcome the introduction of fixed penalty notices to help enforcement agencies crack down on retailers breaking the law. 

On vaping, the Bill brings back the inclusion of powers to make the packaging, flavours and displays of vaping products less appealing to children. It would also close loopholes, including preventing the distribution of free samples of vapes without age verification, and it will make non-nicotine vapes and other consumer nicotine products (like pouches) subject to the same regulations as nicotine vapes.   

E-cigarettes are an effective smoking cessation tool. So, as the Government takes action to reduce the appeal of vapes, it’s important to strike a balance between preventing young people and those who’ve never smoked from vaping, while ensuring that vapes remain accessible, affordable, and available to people who smoke and want to quit. Consulting on these measures will help ensure this.  

What’s new 

Several new measures are now included in the Bill – both on tobacco and vaping.  

The potential extension of smokefree places has been much discussed in the media in the run up to the introduction of the Bill. It is now confirmed that the UK Government intends to take powers to extend the indoor smoking ban to specific outdoor settings with children’s playgrounds, outside schools and hospitals all being considered, subject to consultation. However, the intention is that this extension will not apply to hospitality settings including outside areas of pubs and bars, in England. Subject to consultation, the Government is also considering extending places that are currently smoke free to also become vape free, especially in areas where there are children and young adults.  

Three further announcements from today are measures that we directly called for in our plan for longer, better lives. 

Firstly, it’s great to see the inclusion of powers in the Bill to introduce a licensing scheme for retailers to sell tobacco, vapes and nicotine products in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This will help to tackle the issue of illicit sales. 

Secondly, the UK Government also announced today that it would be exploring standardising packaging for all tobacco products like cigars or pipe tobacco. Currently, this only applies to cigarettes.  This is a loophole in existing regulation that has been exploited by industry to avoid plain packaging on certain products, so we’re really pleased that this may be rectified.

Thirdly, the UK Government has published its response to the pack inserts consultation that we responded to in 2023. Pack inserts would provide information about quitting and motivational cessation messages within product packaging. They will now work to mandate pack inserts for cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco, and will later consider extending this to all tobacco products. This type of measure could help more people who smoke quit and complements existing regulations on tobacco packaging. 

The Bill also includes new measures to curb youth vaping, including a ban on advertising. Most advertising of vapes is already banned, however the new legislation will prohibit advertising of vapes on all channels, including billboards and bus stops, as well as sponsorship (for example in stadiums or festivals). It will also extend to other consumer nicotine products, like nicotine pouches. The legislation will also prohibit vapes being sold through vending machines and allow government to regulate vape product design.  

What’s next 

Achieving a smokefree UK will save lives, reduce pressure on the NHS and boost the economy, and this Bill can play a key part. But there’s still a long road ahead. There are still a number of hurdles to face before the Bill receives Royal Assent, starting with Second Reading, where MPs will have an opportunity to debate the Bill. They will then vote and if the vote passes with over 50% of voting MPs, the Bill will proceed to Committee Stage.