UK Vape Tax - Too Much, Too Soon Say Vapers

30/09/26

A new vape duty is coming into force tomorrow, costing vapers an extra £2.64 per 10ml after VAT. (And yes, the tax is taxed.) So last week we asked our customers and subscribers what they thought of the UK vape duty and how they would react to it.

(A big thank you if you’re one of the more than two thousand who entered the survey.)

You can read the full report here, but for those of you who just want a quick snapshot, we’ve put this post together.

How will it affect people financially?

We estimate the cost of the duty varies from £321 a year for a light vaper to nearly £1,000 for a heavy vaper.

Over half our respondents felt this would have a major impact on their finances, while 37% expected a moderate impact.

The tax affects shortfill vapers the worst, with one saying:

"I currently pay £5.95 for 100ml... The price of my current bottle will increase by £26.40 to £32.35 just for the zero liquid... Got no choice but to stop unfortunately."

What will people do during the sell-through period?

A sell-through period allows some e-liquid and prefilled pods to be sold without vape tax until 31 March 2027. 65% of vapers said they planned to buy more during the sell-through period, while 5% said they had already stocked up.

Of those buying more, 2 in 3 vapers plan to do so steadily over time, while nearly 1 in 4 vapers plan to combine steady stocking up with 1 or more larger orders. Fewer than one in ten plan to place a single large order to stock up.

Will people quit vaping?

12% of respondents said they expect to stop vaping - but that doesn’t necessarily mean quitting nicotine. Of those, 22% said higher prices would make them more likely to use other types of nicotine.

Across everyone we surveyed, 15% said higher prices would make them more likely to buy illegal vapes or e-liquid, 10% to smoke legal tobacco and 5% to buy illegal tobacco. (Do note here that people could select more than one answer.)

And would they have taken vaping up in the first place?

We’ve been wondering how the tax will impact smokers switching to vaping, so we asked our respondents whether they would still have switched if the tax had been in place at the time.

First we had to find out if they had smoked, and it was reassuring to see that only 29 of our respondents said they had never smoked.

Only half (49.5%) of those who had smoked said they would have switched, with the rest either saying they wouldn’t have switched or they weren’t sure.

What’s the reason behind the tax?

We asked our respondents why they thought the government was putting the tax into place. Again, respondents could choose more than one answer - or choose "Other" and give their own reason.

40% of our respondents believed it was to stop young people from vaping, but twice that number thought it was to replace lost tobacco taxes. 1 in 4 people selected tobacco industry influence as a reason.

Finally - what people actually said

To finish this off, I thought it would be nice to get away from stats and figures, and share a small handful of the comments more than 600 of you sent us:

"Times are hard and my vape is my only pleasure left I can afford. Feels a bit like kicking a man when he's down."

"I've been priced out of vaping. I worry that I'll end up smoking again. I worry about nic withdrawal..."

"I feel sad that a good alternative to smoking has been made much more difficult."

"I feel really disappointed and this tax will affect everyone. The cost of living is steadily climbing while wages flat line. This tax hits the working class and poor first and foremost. I don't drink or go out or buy coffee etc why should it be us taxed?"

"...I'm a pensioner and vaping is my only pleasure."

"This worries me as many of us will not be able to afford these rising costs, where we go from here I really don't know."