Vape duty raises concerns for retailers

A store manager has raised concerns that customers will be pushed to higher strength products due to the new Vape Product Duty.

Government guidance states that a duty of 22 pence per millilitre of vape liquid bought will now be added, whether the liquid contains nicotine or not.

Anne Durose, manager of A Fistful of Vapes in Hanley, said: "Because of the price structure the government has put on, pre-filled pod kits will be the cheapest".

James Murray, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said the tax would get "illicit vapes" off high streets, adding: "We're backing retailers who play by the rules by making it easier for law enforcement agencies to take action against those who don't."

The duty will be added before VAT is calculated, meaning a 10ml e-liquid costing £3.99 will have £2.20 of duty and 44p of VAT added, bringing the total cost to £6.63 - nearly double the original price.

Durose said that customers who previously bought refillable liquid vapes are now trying the higher strength nicotine pod kits to avoid the price increases.

She said that her shop sells pod kits that have 10 and 20 mg of nicotine as a cheaper way for new customers to move from cigarettes to vaping before investing in the more expensive kits, but is worried that the amounts are too much for most customers in her shop.

"People that do want to vape are going to try and spend less money, but essentially will be vaping something a lot stronger, and nicotine that they don't need to be vaping, just because it's the cheaper option," she added.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and HM Revenue and Customs said the duty is applied to all vaping liquids, whether they contain nicotine or not.

They also said that the duty "is calculated on the volume of liquid alone, not nicotine content, and so a device containing more liquid will be liable to more duty."

Durose also said that product costs will likely more than triple with the duty

"[If], budget wise, a week we spend £1,500 buying stock...once the Vape Product Duty starts coming through, [it's] going to go up to over £5,000."

The manager added that she had growing concerns after noticing customers stocking up on products before it came into force, which she feared could have a knock-on effect on the business.

"If customers aren't coming in to buy the stock, we can't afford to replace it, which then in turn means we aren't going to be here."

Products will also require an HMRC Vaping Duty Stamp, but stores have a grace period until 1 April 2027 to sell any previously ordered unstamped stock.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health called upon the government to go further with its proposals to introduce new restrictions on the sale of vapes, including limiting the number of flavours available.

The report said vaping had an association with problems including wheezing and coughing, poor oral and dental health, poor sleep, mental health problems and eye symptoms.

Emma Lyndon said she used to smoke cigarettes but switched to vapes after having a stroke and deciding to make some changes to her health.

She now fears customers, like herself, will be driven to cheaper, illegally imported vapes that are not regulated.

"It's absolutely ridiculous the price of vaping now."

"You can't win...the government want us to [switch] smoking to vaping and then they want us to go without nicotine," she added.

Research from Action on Smoking and Health, a charity set up by the Royal College of Physicians to lobby and campaign for tobacco control, found that three million people in Britain had quit smoking to use a vape over the previous five years.

The charity said vaping would still be cheaper than smoking cigarettes following the government's £2.20 increase on tobacco duty per 100 cigarettes or 50g of tobacco.

The government wants to reduce the appeal of vapes by making them more expensive, as more evidence of its adverse effect on health comes out, particularly on children and young people.

The vaping industry has lobbied against the new tax, saying that affordable vapes help people to quit smoking.

Health minister Karin Smyth said "these measures are an important step in our ambition to tackle youth vaping by reducing the affordability of vaping products."

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