Government seeks evidence to shape new tobacco and vapes regulations

The UK Government has launched a call for evidence to inform secondary legislation supporting the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, seeking expert views on new rules for retailers selling tobacco, vapes and other nicotine products and on measures to reduce youth vaping.

The call targets technical, operational and enforcement-focused evidence from public health experts, industry stakeholders, local authorities and licensing bodies to help design detailed regulations under the Bill.

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill establishes a framework intended to create a smoke-free generation by preventing sales of tobacco to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 and by strengthening controls over vapes and nicotine products to protect children and public health.

The Bill gives ministers powers to ban advertising and sponsorship of vaping products, regulate flavours, packaging and product appearance, control how and where products are displayed and sold, require product registration, and enable a new retail licensing regime. It also strengthens enforcement options and sanctions against illegal trading and provides the basis for secondary regulations that will set technical standards, safety requirements and penalties.

Proposed licensing regime

A central feature enabled by the Bill is a proposed retail licensing regime for the sale of tobacco, vapes and nicotine products. The government has indicated a two-tier approach separating a personal licence for individuals from a premises licence for retail locations, aimed at ensuring that only responsible retailers and staff can sell these products.

Licensing authorities would administer applications, renewals, suspensions and revocations and could attach conditions to licences. Penalties for unlicensed selling or breaches of licence conditions could include fixed penalties and higher fines through the courts. The licensing model is intended to deter rogue traders, support legitimate businesses that comply with rules, and provide a clearer enforcement route for local authorities while leaving scope for devolved administrations to adopt compatible or alternative arrangements.

Tobacco & Vapes Bill: Licensing, Impact and Industry response

Hear from Gary Grant, Francis Taylor Building & Liam Humberstone, Independent British Vape Trade Association on the Bill, its impact and industry response at the Institute of Licensing's National Training Conference in November.

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Call for evidence: scope and questions

The call for evidence asks respondents to provide detailed, evidence-based input across multiple themes that will inform future regulations.

Key areas of inquiry include flavours and ingredients, focusing on which flavourings or additives present inhalation risks and how flavour names and descriptors influence youth appeal. The government requests evidence on nicotine strength and absorption across different product types to inform potential limits and on the public-health trade-offs associated with different strengths.

Device design questions seek evidence on how size, shape, colours, branding, resemblance to non-tobacco items and certain technologies affect attractiveness to children and whether technical limits or standards are needed.

The call also covers child resistance and safety measures, the impact of flavoured tobacco and accessories on uptake, the presence and sources of contaminants such as heavy metals, and evidence to support a UK product registration scheme requiring manufacturers to submit product data before market entry.

Specific questions address practical design of a retail licensing scheme, including application and renewal processes, licence conditions, administrative costs, impacts on legitimate retailers, and criteria for granting, suspending and revoking licences.

The government will review the evidence submitted through the call to decide whether and how to proceed with formal consultations and secondary legislation following the Bill’s passage.

The call for evidence is open for 8 weeks and will close at 11:59pm on 3 December 2025. If you respond after this date, your response will not be considered. The Institute of Licensing will be submitting evidence as part of this call for evidence.