Single-use vapes ban
Guidance for businesses preparing for the ban on the sale and supply of single-use vapes from 1 June 2025.
From 1 June 2025, it will be illegal for businesses to sell, offer to sell or have in their possession for sale all single-use or ‘disposable’ vapes. This applies to:
- sales online and in shops
- all vapes whether or not they contain nicotine
If a vape is reusable, you’ll still be able sell it.
Why the UK is banning the sale and supply of single-use vapes
Single-use vapes (also known as disposable vapes) are an inefficient use of critical resources and are often discarded as litter or thrown into residual (non-recycled) waste. Littering spoils our communities, introduces harmful substances into the soil, rivers and streams, and causes harm to biodiversity. When single-use vapes are thrown into black bins they often end up in landfill or are incinerated, which means critical resources are lost. They can also cause fires, which risks the safety of waste management workers, firefighters and the public.
To stop this, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are banning the sale and supply of single-use vapes from 1 June 2025.
Who this guidance is for
This guidance is for businesses in the UK vaping industry, including:
- importers
- retail outlets
- vaping product manufacturers
- wholesalers
This includes any shop or business that sells single-use vapes, such as a:
- convenience store
- market stall
- petrol station
- specialist vape shop
- supermarket
The restrictions of the ban are consistent across all 4 nations. However, what happens if you break the ban is specific to the nation your business is located in.
Check the ‘if you get caught supplying a single-use vape from 1 June 2025’ section below.
Definition of a single-use vape
A single-use or disposable vape is a product that’s neither designed nor intended to be re-used.
For a vape to be considered reuseable, it must be both:
- rechargeable
- refillable
A vape is not considered reuseable, if it is:
- rechargeable but not refillable
- refillable but not rechargeable
A vape is not considered rechargeable if it has a:
- battery you cannot recharge
- coil you cannot buy separately and easily replace
The coil is the part of the vape that’s powered by the battery to produce heat, vaporising the e-liquid. With a reusable vape, you may be able to directly remove and replace the coil, or remove and replace the pod or cartridge in which the coil is encased.
A vape is not considered refillable if:
- it has a single-use container, such as a pre-filled pod, that you cannot buy separately and replace
- you cannot refill the container
The container may be in the form of:
- a capsule
- a cartridge
- a pod
- a tank
- anything designed to hold the vaping liquid and be used within the vape
Definition of a reuseable vape
To be reusable, a vape must:
- have a battery you can recharge
- be refillable with vape liquid (up to a maximum of 10ml)
If the vape has a coil, it must be one that can be replaced by an average user – this includes any part of the product that heats or generates a vapour when interacting with the product’s ingredients.
The vape may be refilled by either:
- filling up the tank or cartridge with e-liquid
- inserting new pre-filled pods
Refills (pods or vape liquid refill bottles) should be separately available for users to buy.
If the vape has a coil, it may be replaced by either:
- removing and replacing it
- removing and replacing a pod or tank that contains it
The coil (whether part of a replacement pod or tank, or not) should be separately available to buy.
By law, you must assist the enforcing authority and provide any information or evidence they ask for during an inspection. You’ll need to be able to demonstrate that an average user can separately buy individual refill items (including pods or e-liquid refill bottles) for the vaping items you stock. An easy way of doing this is by providing these items in your shop or online store.
If you get caught supplying a single-use vape from 1 June 2025
Regardless of where your business is located within the UK, it will be an offence to sell, offer to sell or have in your possession to sell a single-use vape from 1 June 2025. This includes both online and in-store sales.
Different government agencies carry out regulatory functions and enforcement on illegal vapes, including:
- Border Force
- Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
- Office of Product Safety and Standards (OPSS)
- Trading Standards
These agencies communicate with one another and will report you if you break the rules.
As a business, it’s your legal right to ask enforcement and regulatory officers for formal photographic identification (ID). This will usually include their name and the local authority and department they work for. If an officer is carrying out enforcement measures on your premises, do not hesitate to ask for this information.
How the ban will be enforced will vary between the UK’s 4 nations. It’ll be specific to where your business operates.
In England
Local authority Trading Standards will lead on enforcing the ban within their area. If you suspect that someone is supplying single-use vapes, or if you have questions about following the rules of the ban or how it’ll be enforced, contact your local Trading Standards service.
In the first instance, enforcement authorities will apply civil sanctions (non-criminal penalties) such as a:
- stop notice
- compliance notice
- fine of £200
Trading Standards will be able to seize any single-use vapes they find.
If you continue to supply, offer to supply or have in your possession to supply single-use vapes, you may be charged with an unlimited fine, a prison sentence of up to 2 years, or both. You may also receive an additional cost recovery notice, where you must pay the costs incurred by Trading Standards while investigating your offence. This includes investigative, administrative and legal costs.
In Wales
Local authorities in Wales will lead on enforcing the ban. If you suspect that someone is supplying single-use vapes, or if you have questions about following the rules of the ban or how it’ll be enforced, contact your local Trading Standards service.
Enforcement authorities may apply civil sanctions such as:
- a fixed fine of £200 or a variable fine of more than £200
- an enforcement cost recovery notice
- a non-compliance penalty
- a stop notice
In Scotland
In Scotland, local authorities will lead on enforcing the ban. They’ll report criminal cases to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), who are responsible for prosecuting offences under the regulations. If you suspect that someone is supplying single-use vapes, or if you have questions about following the rules of the ban or how it’ll be enforced, contact your local Trading Standards service.
If you’re found guilty of supplying, offering to supply or having in your possession for supply single-use vapes, you’ll be subject on summary conviction to a fine of up to £5,000. On further conviction of these offences, you may face up to 2 years in prison or be subject to a fine, or both.
If you fail to follow an enforcement requirement without a reasonable excuse, you’ll be subject to a fine of up to £5,000.
In Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, the enforcement mechanism will be different from other parts of the UK. There are no civil sanctions for this offence and the following penalties will apply.
If you’re found guilty of supplying, offering to supply or having in your possession to supply single-use vapes, you may receive a fine of up to £5,000 on summary conviction in a Magistrates’ Court. On further conviction of this offence in a Crown Court, you may face a prison sentence of up to 2 years, a fine, or both.
If you fail to provide information that an enforcement body asks for, you may receive a fine on summary conviction of up to £5,000 in a Magistrates’ Court.
How to tell if you can sell a vape
An example of a reusable vape is a device that has a:
- chamber, pod or tank you can refill using e-liquid you’ve bought separately
- rechargeable battery
- removeable and replaceable coil
You refill the liquid using a refilling port, which is attached to the chamber or tank. The coil is situated within the tank and you remove it separately by pulling or unscrewing it from the tank. You recharge the battery with a recharging port, which is typically USB or USB-C.
Another example of a reusable vape is a pod-based device that includes either a:
- pre-filled pod you replace when the e-liquid runs out
- refillable pod you refill using separately bought e-liquid and replace when necessary
In pre-filled pods, the pod usually contains the coil or heating element, which you replace alongside the entire pod. In refillable pods, you replace the coil separately by pulling or unscrewing it from the tank. In both types, the battery must also be rechargeable using a recharging port, which is typically USB or USB-C.
To be considered reuseable, replacement components (including the pre-filled pods, e-liquid refill bottles and coils) must be separately available to buy either in-store or online.
Devices you must not sell
The following are some examples of common models that are not considered reusable.
Single stick devices that have the mouthpiece, tank and battery fixed together. The liquid and the coil are not accessible. Even if the device contains a USB port, suggesting that the battery can be recharged, it will still be illegal to sell.
Devices that allow you to refill the tank and charge the battery, but where the coil is encased in the device and cannot be replaced. This kind of device is not reusable because once the coil has burnt out, it’s not possible to replace it with a new one.
Devices that appear to be reusable but where it’s not possible for a user to separately buy the refill e-liquid, pre-filled pods or replacement coil (in your shop or anywhere).
How to check if a vape is reusable
You can check whether a nicotine-containing vaping product is reusable on the MHRA website, but you must first consider the ‘definition of a reusable vape’ above to make sure the product is refillable and rechargeable.
Before a nicotine-containing vape is placed on the market, it must be notified to and approved by the MHRA, who confirm this by publishing the product on the MHRA notified products list. If a product is not listed, it’s not legal to sell it in the UK.
From 1 June 2025, the MHRA will remove all single-use vaping products (containing nicotine) from the list. To prepare, you should stop buying any single-use vapes now and prioritise reducing any current stock.
Vapes that do not contain nicotine do not have to be registered on the MHRA website, so it’s important that you check that the product is not single-use by other means. Contact your local Trading Standards for advice if you’re unsure.
If a vape is on the notified products list but you think it does not meet the definition of a reusable vape, it could be a single-use vape and illegal for you to sell or supply it. Contact your local Trading Standards if you’re unsure about a specific product.
It’s the legal responsibility of every individual within the supply chain to provide evidence that a product is legal. If you’re a supplier or retailer, you must be able to show you took steps to check your product is legal and meets the definition of a reusable vape.
You must also provide any information requested by an individual or service enforcing the ban unless the information is legally privileged (protected by law from being revealed).
Other restrictions on vaping products
Aside from the restrictions on vaping devices outlined in this guidance, reusable vapes will still be subject to wider regulatory restrictions. Vapes on the market must follow relevant regulations, such as:
- the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Chemicals Regulations (2015)
- the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 (TRPR)
- waste regulations that apply to electrical equipment and batteries – this includes the Batteries and Accumulators (Placing on the Market) Regulations 2008 and related legislation
Read guidance on these additional restrictions for:
Recycling vapes
Vapes are electrical items, whether they are single-use or reuseable, which means they are covered by the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations. If you sell vapes (described as being a ‘distributor’ in the regulations), you must offer a ‘take back’ service where you accept vapes and vape parts (such as used pods, coils or batteries) that customers return for recycling.
This includes any single-use vapes returned by customers after the sale and supply ban has come into force on 1 June 2025.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards may take action against you if you do not have a way to safely recycle vapes and vape parts.
Unsafe storage of vapes or improper disposal is a fire risk. Vapes should be disposed of in vape bins only and regularly collected for recycling.
Access a guidance video on your responsibilities as a vape retailer (available in 120 languages).
What to do if you have stock of single-use vapes
If you still have single-use vapes in your possession from 1 June 2025, you will not be able to sell or supply them to customers.
You’ll need to arrange for these vapes to be recycled. If you have vape bin services, you should do this through the company they provide – you may need to pay a fee. If you do not responsibly recycle single-use vape stocks by 1 June 2025, you’ll put your business at risk of commercial loss and legal enforcement action.
To prepare for the ban, you should:
- stop buying new stock of single-use vapes
- sell through all existing stock
- buy vapes that follow the new regulations
From 1 June 2025, if you possess any leftover single-use vaping products, you’ll need to:
- separate them from other goods
- label them as unsellable
- remove them from your shopfloor or online store until they’ve been collected by a registered vape recycling service
Online resources
Environment Agency guidance on how to dispose of business waste.
MHRA guidance on e-cigarette regulations.
MHRA notified products list search.