From the BMJ, 8 May 2026
The UK’s landmark Tobacco and Vapes Act, which became law last month, creates a “smoke-free generation” by making it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone in the UK born after 2008.1
It also aims to reduce young people’s use of other products containing nicotine, such as vapes, while keeping the products available to help adults quit smoking.
To help make vaping less appealing to young people, UK ministers are being handed new powers to regulate the design and advertising of products containing nicotine, create a licensing scheme for selling them, and introduce further restrictions on where they can be used in public.
The UK’s approach differs from that of Australia, which in July 2024 imposed a strict national ban on the sale and importation of e-cigarettes (nicotine containing or otherwise) to anyone of any age.2
Now, vapes are available in Australia only if sold by a pharmacist on prescription as a smoking cessation aid for people aged 18 or over.3 Vaping devices approved for sale in pharmacies are restricted to three flavours, and the advertising of vapes is banned by law. Read more.
Bianca Nogrady 