Issued by: Department of Health and Social Care, Scotland Office, Wales Office, and Northern Ireland Office

Ministers have launched a crackdown on vapes marketed at kids with a shift to plain white packaging.

• Plans to keep vapes out of sight in shops, airports and wholesalers

• Plain packaging for all tobacco products, including cigars and cigarette papers

Plans to stop vapes being marketed to children have been unveiled today (10 July) as part of a UK-wide consultation to introduce plain packaging, restrictions on flavour description rules and keeping vapes out of sight in shops.

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) report that around one million 11-17 year olds in Great Britain reported trying vaping in 2025. Evidence suggests that colourful packaging, prominent retail displays and child-appealing flavours are among the factors driving young people to take it up.

The UK government and the devolved governments have launched a consultation that includes proposals to reduce the appeal of vapes to young children, including white packaging with restrictions on text colour, imagery, branding and standardised product information.

There will also be restrictions on flavour names to simple recognisable descriptions and vape devices to be white, black or grey.

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care James Murray said:

"The evidence is clear: there are too many young people experimenting with vapes, attracted by the array of flavours, bright colours and marketing displays.

"We want a healthier future for the next generation, so we must act now to reduce the appeal of addictive vapes to our children.

"Vapes are less harmful than cigarettes and can play an important role in helping adult smokers to quit, but they should never be designed or marketed in ways that tempt children. These proposals are about striking the right balance and I urge everyone to have their say."

Standardised packaging has helped reduce the appeal of smoking since its introduction for cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco in 2017.

The consultation proposes to extend these requirements for all tobacco products, including cigars and cigarette papers.

Further proposals include introducing positive quit themed inserts directing smokers to resources to quit and health warnings for all tobacco products, as well as removing displays for tobacco products in duty-free settings and airports.

The consultation follows the passage of the Tobacco and Vapes Act, which received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026 [https://tinyurl.com/4t4rr2fh], and sets out proposals to create the UK’s first smoke-free generation, protecting children from nicotine addiction, while ensuring adult smokers can still access vaping products to help them quit.

There is also growing awareness and use among young people of other nicotine products, including nicotine pouches, which are covered by several of the proposed measures.

Scotland Public Health Minister Maree Todd said:

"Scotland has been a world-leader on a range of tobacco control measures, and while there has been a steady reduction in smoking rates, we know it still damages lives and kills more than 7,000 people a year in Scotland.

"The use of vapes has increased in recent years, particularly among children and young people – with almost one in five children saying they have tried vaping.

"We know that colourful packaging and displays are used as an enticement to children and young people, which is why we are taking action and consulting on options to address this issue. We urge everyone to have their say on how these products are marketed and sold in the future to help protect children and young people and reduce preventable harm in Scotland."

Northern Ireland Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said:

"The rise in vaping amongst children and young people concerns me. Restricting the visibility of these products will lessen their appeal, which in turn will reduce youth vaping and prevent future generations from nicotine addiction.

"I consider it vital that we get the views from the public on the future of displaying and packaging of these products. I would encourage everyone to take the time to respond to this consultation."

Wales Deputy Minister for Preventative and Public Health Nerys Evans said:

"Vapes are being deliberately designed and marketed to appeal to children - with bright colours, cartoon branding and sweet-sounding flavour names that have no place in products containing addictive nicotine.

"It is simply unacceptable and I would encourage urge everyone to support our efforts to protect children’s health."

Professor Steve Turner, President of The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) said:

"Any measures that improve child health are welcome and much needed. As paediatricians, we are deeply concerned by the insidious marketing practices used by tobacco and vaping companies to target our future generations.

"For those of us working with children every day, it is clear that only strong and meaningful regulation will protect them from the harms associated with nicotine addiction. We welcome this consultation as an important step towards creating a healthier future for children and young people."

Hazel Cheeseman, Chief Executive of ASH, said:

"Protecting children from harmful vape marketing is the right thing to do. Attractive, colourful branding and images have driven the appeal of vapes to children leading to an increase in use. At the same time there is a careful balance to strike with regulations. While vapes are not harm free, they are significantly less harmful than smoking and vapes have helped millions of people successfully stop smoking in recent years.

"The task now is to thread the needle of making vaping less appealing to children without making it less effective for adults who want to quit smoking. Get that balance wrong, and we risk slowing progress against smoking, the leading cause of preventable death."

The consultation seeks views on proposals for vapes and nicotine products including:

• Introducing plain white packaging with restrictions on text colour, imagery, limited branding and standardised safety information

• Restricting flavour names to only simple recognisable descriptions (e.g. “Apple”), banning concept and sensory names as well as names relating to confectionery, sweets, desserts and alcohol

• Mandating manufacturers of vape devices to make them white, black or grey, with no images, limited branding, no cosmetic lights and screens only displaying safety information (e.g. battery level)

• Restrict shop displays in the same way as tobacco products.

Further measures in the proposals for tobacco products include:

• Extending existing plain packaging requirements and health warnings for cigarettes across all tobacco products, herbal smoking products, cigarette papers and heated tobacco devices.

• Introducing positive quit-support messages inside all tobacco products, including cigarettes, hand-rolling tobacco, herbal smoking products and heated tobacco devices

• Extending existing tobacco display restrictions to all tobacco related products, cigarette papers, herbal smoking products

•Removing an existing display exemption for bulk tobacconists, including duty-free shops and airports, meaning that tobacco products would be restricted from display in these settings

• Restricting heated tobacco devices to a drab brown colour the same as tobacco packaging, with no images, limited branding, no cosmetic lights and screens only displaying safety information (e.g. battery level)

This consultation is part of wider action to tackle youth vaping. It follows a ban on single-use vapes (1 June 2025), and comes ahead of the introduction of a Vaping Products Duty (1 October 2026), future bans on the sale of vapes from vending machines and their free distribution (29 October 2026), and an end to the advertising and sponsorship of vapes (1 June 2027).

Additional Quotes: [https://tinyurl.com/38jww3uh]

Background

• This consultation is UK-wide.

• Proposed regulations in this consultation stem from powers within the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 29 April.

• The consultation runs for 12 weeks from launch.

• No immediate changes to law are being made at this stage.

• Regulations will be developed following analysis of consultation responses.

• Medicinally licensed nicotine products are exempt from these proposals and are subject to different legislation.

• Tobacco products include: cigars, cigarillos, pipe tobacco, waterpipe tobacco (e.g shisha), nasal tobacco (snuff), chewing tobacco, heated tobacco, blunts. Cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco are already covered by plain packaging legislation and will have pack inserts introduced in due course. The consultation will cover all tobacco products, meaning it is futureproofed for any tobacco new product that is developed.

• Proposed plain packaging legislation in line with existing cigarette packaging is for all tobacco products, herbal smoking products, heated tobacco devices & cigarette papers.

• Proposed quit-themed pack inserts for all tobacco products, herbal smoking products and heated tobacco devices but not cigarette papers due to their small size.

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