Smokers are about to pay more for hand-rolling tobacco
Rachel Reeves has announced a tax hike on vaping products in today’s budget as part of a plan to reduce smoking among children.
She also announced a further 10% duty hike on hand-rolling tobacco this year, along with the new flat rate duty on all vape liquid from October 2026.
From October 1 2026, the duty will be introduced with a rate of £2.20 per 10ml of the fluid.
The move comes as part of Labour’s war on vaping, which has also seen them announce a ban on disposable vapes set to take effect on June 1 next year.
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It goes hand-in-hand with a further rise in tobacco duty, also announced today, which seeks to discourage children priced out of vaping not to start smoking.
The Chancellor renewed the duty escalator of RPI +2% for the remainder of the parliamentary term, meaning it will rise above the rate of inflation.
In March, Reeves’ predecessor Jeremy Hunt announced the Conservative government would be implementing its own tax on vaping products as part of a wider move to make smoking unafforadable for young people, which Labour said they would honour upon taking office.
The Treasury estimates Hunt’s vape tax, once implemented by Labour, could raise £120m in 2026-27, rising to £445m by 2028-29.
Vape use in the UK is estimated to have grown by 400% between 2012 and 2023, and around 9.1% of the population is now believed to buy and use them.
A public health source told the Guardian the sector had been expecting the government’s tobacco and vapes bill to be tabled at the start of this month, and that the delay could indicate changes being announced in the budget.
Defra’s circular economy minister, Mary Creagh, said disposable vapes were ‘extremely wasteful and blight our towns and cities.
‘That is why we are banning single use vapes as we end this nation’s throwaway culture,’ she added.
‘This is the first step on the road to a circular economy, where we use resources for longer, reduce waste, accelerate the path to net-zero and create thousands of jobs across the country.’
Around 48% of of children caught vaping are less than eleven years old, research has found.