UK Vape Flavours & Packaging: What You Need to Know in 2026

The Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 received Royal Assent on 29 April. It gives ministers new powers to restrict vape flavours, packaging, descriptors and branding. But none of those powers have kicked in yet, and until they do, every nicotine vape on sale in the UK has to follow the rules already in place.

For the full picture on disposables, age-of-sale laws, public-place rules and the new vaping duty, our main UK vaping laws guide covers everything. This article focuses on the two issues everyone’s anxious about but no one’s explaining well: flavours and packaging.

Here’s where things actually stand in 2026:

• Flavours are still legal. Fruit, dessert, candy, soda, menthol and tobacco flavours are all still on sale.

• The new Act gives the government the option to restrict or ban flavours in future. No decision has been made, and any change would need to go through public consultation first.

• Packaging rules are already stricter than most people realise. Most complaints relate to advertising rules that have been in place for years.

• Plain packaging has been discussed by public health groups and researchers, but nothing has been announced.

The rest of this guide explains each of these points, what applies right now, what could happen next, and what each scenario would actually mean for the flavours and devices on shelves.

What's actually legal right now

UK vape law in 2026 still sits under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 (Most people just call it TRPR). Until ministers use the new powers in the Tobacco and Vapes Act, TRPR is what every nicotine vape on the UK market has to follow.

Under TRPR, these are the main rules around flavours, packaging and labelling.

Pods, tanks and bottles

• E-liquid vaping tanks and pods are capped at 2ml maximum.

• Nicotine containing refill bottles capped at 10ml maximum.

• Nicotine strength capped at 20mg/ml, anything stronger is illegal in the UK.

Flavours

• There’s currently no flavour ban in place, so fruit, dessert and candy flavours are still legal to sell.

• Packaging can't make health claims, and any food imagery on a pack must match the actual flavour profile or ingredient.

• Flavour names themselves have to follow advertising rules, more on that in a moment.

Packaging and labelling

• Child-resistant and tamper-evident packaging is mandatory on every nicotine product.

• Health warnings cover at least 30% of the front and back.

• Required text includes "This product contains nicotine which is highly addictive" and "Keep out of reach of children"

• Full ingredient list, in descending order by weight.

• Manufacturer or distributor contact details on pack.

Banned ingredients

No food colourings, no caffeine, no taurine, no vitamins. Products also can’t suggest stimulant-style effects such as energy boosts.

MHRA notification

Every product has to be registered with the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) at least six months before it can be sold. It only hits the shelf once it appears on the public register. New flavour, new pack size, new strength, every version needs its own notification.

Aside from the disposable ban, most of these rules have been in place for years. What’s changed is the government now has broader powers to tighten restrictions later on.

The Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026: What powers, what timeline

The Tobacco and Vapes Act became law on 29 April 2026 after passing through both Houses of Parliament. The Act also covers tobacco sales, advertising and retail licensing. It brings in the generational tobacco sales ban, which stops tobacco sales to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 from 1 January 2027. It also brings in a UK-wide ban on vape advertising and sponsorship, plus a new licensing scheme for tobacco and nicotine retailers.

For flavours and packaging specifically, the Act creates powers for future restrictions such as:

• Restrict or ban vape flavours.

• Set rules around flavour names and descriptions.

• Standardise packaging colours, shapes, imagery and design.

• Restrict or ban point-of-sale displays designed to appeal to children.

None of those restrictions are active yet.

Each of these powers needs secondary legislation to come in. And any changes have to go through public consultation first. So while the Tobacco and Vapes Act is now law, the actual day-to-day rules for retailers and consumers haven’t changed yet.

Two important upcoming dates in 2026:

• 29 October 2026: Sales of non-nicotine vapes and other nicotine products to under-18s become illegal.

• 1 October 2026: The new Vaping Products Duty takes effect at £2.20 per 10ml of e-liquid, including nicotine-free products.

Neither of these directly restricts flavours or packaging. But both will likely change how vape brands make their products and how shops price them.

The three flavour futures

At the moment, there are three realistic ways flavour restrictions could go. All three have been discussed by officials, public health groups and the vaping industry throughout 2025 and 2026, but there is still no formal consultation in place.

Here’s what each option could look like if it were introduced.

What hasn’t been announced is which option ministers will go with. Public health bodies including ASH and Cancer Research UK are calling for a full ban on sweet flavours and appealing packaging. Industry groups including UKVIA argue that flavour variety plays a role in helping adult smokers move away from cigarettes. 

Advertising rules already affecting flavour names

While the flavour bans everyone's worried about are still up for consultation, there's already regulation that limits what UK vape products can be called and how they can be packaged. It’s the CAP Code (for non-broadcast advertising) and the BCAP Code (for broadcast), both enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority.

Section 22 of the CAP Code is the bit that applies to electronic cigarettes. It bans marketing that:

• Particularly appeals to under-18s, especially through youth-culture references.

• Features people who appear to be under 25, or characters likely to appeal to under-18s, including cartoons, fictional characters and youth icons.

• Portrays users behaving in an "adolescent or juvenile manner".

• Glamorises smoking or makes health claims about vaping.

That's the formal code. In reality, the ASA and Trading Standards have used these rules to challenge:

• Flavour names mimicking confectionery: "Gummy Bear", "Bubblegum", "Skittles-style". Names that resemble sweets or confectionery are already more likely to attract scrutiny.

• Packaging using bright cartoon imagery that resembles soft drinks, sweets or children's products.

• Influencer content featuring presenters who look under-25 or use youth-culture language.

What's coming next: consultations and plain packaging

As for packaging, there was a 2025 study carried out by UCL, King’s College London, ASH and Brighton & Sussex Medical School, published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, that found that interest in trying vapes among young people dropped from 53% to 38% once the branded packaging was standardised to black and white. The same study found adult interest was hardly affected.

Research like this is part of the reason plain packaging keeps coming up in policy discussions. The UKVIA has pushed back saying that packaging plays a role in helping adult smokers identify and switch to specific products. Currently, the government hasn’t decided.

Summary: What this means for you

If you’re a vaper. For now, the products on shelves remain the same. And there won’t be an overnight flavour ban without a consultation process first. Your bigger concern in 2026 is the £2.20 per 10ml vape tax that starts in October. Brands are gradually stripping back their packaging, but the flavours still taste the same.

If you’re a retailer, now’s probably the time to review how exposed your range is to different flavour restriction scenarios. Map your range against the three flavour scenarios, full ban, restricted list, descriptor-only, and work out which lines are at risk under each.

• Check your flavour names and packaging against CAP Section 22 now, not when an enforcement action lands.

• Subscribe to DHSC and MHRA updates so consultation announcements don't catch you out.

Either way, nothing's going to change overnight. The consultation timeline is slow and any decisions made in 2026 will probably affect brands in 2027/28, as there will likely be a grace period to allow manufacturers and retailers to sell off all their old stock. This happened with the disposable vape ban. There would be a lot of notice given in terms of consultations, announcements and press coverage before any restrictions took effect.

Right now there is no timeline for a flavours and packaging consultation. We’ll update this guide as soon as we hear more. Bookmark it, or check back ahead of any product range or buying decisions. If you're new to UK vape laws, our UK vaping regulations guide is the place to start.

If the new vape duty has you thinking about what vaping actually costs day to day, our guide to vaping costs in the UK breaks it down.

Sources

• Tobacco and Vapes Bill becomes law — gov.uk
• Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 — UK Parliament
• Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 — legislation.gov.uk
• E-cigarettes: regulations for consumer products — gov.uk
• MHRA E-cigarette and Vape Products Guidance Hub — gov.uk
• CAP Code Section 22 (Electronic cigarettes) — ASA/CAP
• Single-use vapes banned 1 June 2025 — gov.uk
• Plain packaging may help tackle teen vaping — UCL News
• Standardised packaging on vapes reduces appeal to teenagers — KCL News
• Tattan-Birch et al. (2025) — The Lancet Regional Health – Europe