2025 Budget: Bad News for Rogue Vape Retailers
As well as some disappointment for income taxpayers, the UK government’s autumn budget delivered some bad news for dodgy vape retailers. New initiatives will make life difficult for those profiteering from the thriving vape black market.
Key Takeaways
- New measures will allow illegal vapes to be seized on the spot.
- Digital duty stamps will help users identify legal vapes.
- £10 million funding towards border enforcement.
- Haypp’s own research shows illegal vape sales remain widespread.
- Among other measures, new vape duties begin October 2026.
The New Government Measures Targeting Illegal Vapes
Initiatives announced in today’s autumn budget include:
- New powers to allow HMRC and Border Force to seize illicit vape products on the spot.
- From October 2026, all vapes sold in the UK will be required to carry digital duty stamps with QR codes to prove they are legal.
- £10 million funding from HMRC to Border Force in 2026-27 to increase information gathering capabilities and to support enforcement at the border.
Haypp Responds: A Welcome Initiative
Markus Lindblad, Head of Legal and External Affairs at Haypp, comments:
“We are very pleased to see these initiatives from the government. The introduction of a Vape Products Duty Stamp and a vape QR code will encourage compliance and help consumers make informed choices.
The black market for vapes has been spreading like wildfire in the UK, and these measures will help tackle rogue retailers and protect the public.”
Nearly 1 in 4 Retailers Selling Illegal Vapes
Earlier this year, secret shoppers from Haypp, visited various vape stores across nine major UK cities, including London, Cardiff and Glasgow, to uncover if retailers were complying with the ban.
They found that almost a quarter (23%) were still selling outlawed disposable vapes.
In addition to this, more research by Haypp showed that nearly a third of vape users (32%) admitted they would be willing to purchase an illegal vape. However, only 64% of British vapers felt confident they could identify an illegal vape.
The Impact on Consumers and Retailers
Lindblad continues:
“These measures will help tackle the black-market on two fronts. They provide a clear signal to consumers on whether the vape they are purchasing is legal or not, and it introduces much tougher penalties for retailers who break the law.
Responsible retailers will be delighted to see this announcement as it will help level the playing field and reduce unfair competition from unscrupulous traders.
The final piece of the puzzle is to ensure that Trading Standards are resourced sufficiently to enable them to do their job.”
What Vapers Should Know Heading Into 2026
As well as these new initiatives, other measures announced before today will start to impact vapers in 2026:
- The Tobacco Duty escalator of the Retail Price Index +2% will kick in again this year. These changes will take effect from 6pm on 26 November 2025.
- The Vaping Products Duty, which was announced last year, will come into effect on 1 October 2026. This is a flat rate of £2.20 per 10ml vaping liquid.
- This will be accompanied by a one-off increase in Tobacco Duty. This is to maintain the price difference between cigarettes and vaping to maintain the financial incentive for smokers to make the switch.
The one-off increase of £2.20 per 100 cigarettes or 50g of other tobacco products and annual uprating of tobacco duty by RPI + 2 ppts next year will take effect from 1 October 2026 and will be included in the Finance Bill 2025-26.
