The days of snapping up vape deals are over in the way we know it. From 29th October 2026, there are new regulations being enforced as part of the new Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 surrounding how we as retailers advertise and sell vaping products, with a spotlight on discounts, promotional giveaways and special offers. With an ethos similar to that of the Vaping Products Duty 2026, which was enforced on the 1st October 2026, the new discount regulations tightly govern age of sale restrictions and lessens the attractiveness of buying vaping products by banning large discounts and other promotional giveaways.
So, what does this look like now? Let’s clear the air on the new rules and separate fact from fiction, what this means for us, and how this changes for you.
The UK vaping discount regulation changes are being enforced on 29th October 2026, with the same ethos as the UK Vaping Products Duty, enforced on 1st October 2026, to lessen the attractiveness of commercial vaping.
The UK vaping discount regulations enforce tighter age of sale restrictions for all vaping and nicotine products. It has always been enforced that no one under the age of 18 can purchase vaping products containing nicotine, however, these regulations have been revised to now include nicotine-free products and vaping alternatives, such as nicotine pouches and strips etc.
Restrictions are being enforced on free distribution of all vaping products with the purpose or effect of promoting that product.
There are also introduced restrictions to substantial discounts, promotional offers, coupons and giveaways as a move to lessen the attractiveness of vaping products.
According to the government’s retailer guidance, the new UK vaping discount regulations cover all vaping and nicotine products, meaning all products including vaping liquids with or without nicotine, all vaping devices, replacement pods and coils and all vaping alternative products (nicotine pouches, strips, lozenges, etc). The only exclusions to these vaping discount regulations stated in the guidance are batteries and charging cables.
Who can buy vaping and nicotine products after 29th October 2026?
Before 29th October 2026, the legal age in England, Wales and Northern Ireland was applied specifically to vaping products including nicotine. This means nicotine-free shortfills, e-liquids, prefilled pods or vaping kits were excluded from these restrictions. Vaping alternative products also slipped through the cracks, meaning that there wasn’t an enforced legal age restriction for purchasing products like nicotine pouches or strips.
With the enforced ban on 29th October, the regulations are tightening, which means that it will become an offence for retailers to sell all vaping and nicotine products to anyone below the age of 18, including devices, empty replacement pods and coils.
At Vape.co.uk, this doesn’t pose a change for us or our customers, as we already have an Age Verification system in place for all customers, which is verified for every order they make.
What products are affected by changes to regulations for age restrictions?
According to the government’s retailer guidance, the new UK vaping discount regulations cover all vaping and nicotine products, meaning:
All vaping liquids with or without nicotine: shortfills, e-liquids, prefilled pods.
All vaping devices, replacement pods and coils.
Vaping alternative nicotine products: pouches, strips, lozenges, toothpicks, etc.
The only exclusions named are batteries and charging cables.
What are the new Free Distribution Regulations?
The free distribution regulation refers to the giving away of vaping and nicotine products or free coupons to members of the public with the purpose of promoting those products.
Do not panic that if you buy a vape and give it to your friend you will get prosecuted because you won’t (unless they are underage)! This is predominantly for retailers that offer discounts, coupons or freebies as an incentive to buy and promote their products.
Will retailers still be able to discount vaping products?
In short, yes! The government guidance suggests that these restrictions do not affect normal discounting practices. This means that we as retailers are still able to sell unsold stock at a lower rate and incorporate bulk order discounts. However, the government guidelines do not explicitly state what this looks like, so it may be subject to change.
What counts as a ‘substantial discount’?
The government guidance describes that a substantial discount constitutes a price reduction that significantly lowers the price of a product compared to its standard selling price. However, they have not released guidance to make it explicitly clear what counts as ‘substantial’; therefore, each product may have a different appropriate discount.
It is described that the substantial discount was enforced as part of the free distribution regulation restrictions to ensure that retailers don’t use huge discounts and deals as a way to override the free distribution restrictions to promote products. This means that competitive prices will still be a thing, alongside multibuy offers or bundles, for example; however, some of our current popular deals like a 99p checkout deal, a buy one get one free deal or freebies unfortunately won’t be coming back.
What about clearance, multi-buys and bundles?
The substantial discount and free distribution restrictions exclude normal business clearance products as well as multi-buys and bundles as long as the prices aren’t majorly discounted. It is also important that less popular or discontinued products aren’t wasted, so they will still be reduced into clearance.
It is important for us here at Vape.co.uk that, with the new Vaping Products Duty enforced on the 1st October, as well as this new Discount ban being enforced on the 29th October 2026, our regular customers and anyone else looking at vaping to quit smoking do not feel punished for kicking a bad habit. We will continue to communicate our deals within government guidelines to ensure bulk ordering and multi-buy offers are still readily available as much as they can be.
Stop-Smoking Services
In short, stop-smoking services can still provide free vapes as long as they are run within the arrangements with a public authority (for example the NHS or council-funded programme), but prohibit retailers from running their own giveaways.
These new rules are being enforced with the ethos that they are to lessen the attractiveness of vaping in a commercial and social context; therefore, in services such as stop-smoking services, the new rules do not prevent them.
Vape.co.uk: what has changed for us?
Age Verification
This isn’t so much a change for us, as we have an age verification system that screens customers to ensure they are above the age of 18 before allowing any order to be processed.
Special Offers
At Vape.co.uk, some of our offers currently incorporate a kit with a free 10ml e-liquid to get you started. Unfortunately, unless sold in agreed discounted bundle deals, these special offers cannot operate under the new regulations.
Clearance
The government guidance emphasises that unsold products can still be sold at a reduced price, as long as this price isn’t a substantial promotional discount. This means that we will be keeping our clearance section, which will transparently include less popular or discontinued products being reduced into clearance to avoid product waste.
Multi-buys
Bulk pricing is excluded from restrictions, as long as they don’t incur a substantial promotional discount. This means that the multi-buy offers can still exist under regulations.
No More Free Samples
Under the guidelines of the new vape discount ban on 29th October, we will not be providing any free samples.
What we can guarantee at Vape.co.uk
Commitment to Affordable Prices
Whilst we will be operating within regulation, the drive for competitive prices and affordable products for our customers remains at the forefront of our ethos as a company. Even without substantial discounts and freebies, we will work within government guidance to provide whatever deals are possible and communicate any changes with you clearly.
Offers In Line With Regulation
Annoyingly, the government have not released clear guidance on what counts as a ‘substantial discount’ in their enforcement of the free distribution and substantial discount regulations under the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026; therefore, we cannot say with confidence what we can offer in terms of offers. However, we are confident that we will still be offering multi-buys, bundle deals and clearance offers in one form or another; how these look, at the minute, we cannot say.
Excellent Customer Service
It is at the very heart of us here at Vape.co.uk to provide top-notch customer service. With an excellent team, we will continue to communicate any changes to the best of our ability. If you have any specific questions that we do not answer, do not hesitate to hop onto our live chat and speak to one of our very real customer service team (available every day 8am-8pm) or email helpers@vape.co.uk outside of hours, and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
Disclaimer:
This blog post is intended as general information about the Selling Vaping and Nicotine Product Guidance provided by the Department of Health and Social Care available at the time of publication. Rules and guidance and implementation of these regulations can change, so we urge customers and businesses to refer to the latest guidance for the most up-to-date information.
Megan Oakley is a content and copywriter at Vape.co.uk. She has an undergraduate degree in English and a postgraduate masters degree in Media and advertising from the University of Leicester. She weaves together extensive research and contemporary topics to create simple yet engaging articles focused on helping UK vapers make more informed choices.
Vaping Discount Regulation: What Changes on 29th October 2026?
The days of snapping up vape deals are over in the way we know it. From 29th October 2026, there are new regulations being enforced as part of the new Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 surrounding how we as retailers advertise and sell vaping products, with a spotlight on discounts, promotional giveaways and special offers. With an ethos similar to that of the Vaping Products Duty 2026, which was enforced on the 1st October 2026, the new discount regulations tightly govern age of sale restrictions and lessens the attractiveness of buying vaping products by banning large discounts and other promotional giveaways.
So, what does this look like now? Let’s clear the air on the new rules and separate fact from fiction, what this means for us, and how this changes for you.
Contents:
Related Blogs:
Main Takeaways:
Who can buy vaping and nicotine products after 29th October 2026?
Before 29th October 2026, the legal age in England, Wales and Northern Ireland was applied specifically to vaping products including nicotine. This means nicotine-free shortfills, e-liquids, prefilled pods or vaping kits were excluded from these restrictions. Vaping alternative products also slipped through the cracks, meaning that there wasn’t an enforced legal age restriction for purchasing products like nicotine pouches or strips.
With the enforced ban on 29th October, the regulations are tightening, which means that it will become an offence for retailers to sell all vaping and nicotine products to anyone below the age of 18, including devices, empty replacement pods and coils.
At Vape.co.uk, this doesn’t pose a change for us or our customers, as we already have an Age Verification system in place for all customers, which is verified for every order they make.
What products are affected by changes to regulations for age restrictions?
According to the government’s retailer guidance, the new UK vaping discount regulations cover all vaping and nicotine products, meaning:
The only exclusions named are batteries and charging cables.
What are the new Free Distribution Regulations?
The free distribution regulation refers to the giving away of vaping and nicotine products or free coupons to members of the public with the purpose of promoting those products.
Do not panic that if you buy a vape and give it to your friend you will get prosecuted because you won’t (unless they are underage)! This is predominantly for retailers that offer discounts, coupons or freebies as an incentive to buy and promote their products.
Will retailers still be able to discount vaping products?
In short, yes! The government guidance suggests that these restrictions do not affect normal discounting practices. This means that we as retailers are still able to sell unsold stock at a lower rate and incorporate bulk order discounts. However, the government guidelines do not explicitly state what this looks like, so it may be subject to change.
What counts as a ‘substantial discount’?
The government guidance describes that a substantial discount constitutes a price reduction that significantly lowers the price of a product compared to its standard selling price. However, they have not released guidance to make it explicitly clear what counts as ‘substantial’; therefore, each product may have a different appropriate discount.
It is described that the substantial discount was enforced as part of the free distribution regulation restrictions to ensure that retailers don’t use huge discounts and deals as a way to override the free distribution restrictions to promote products. This means that competitive prices will still be a thing, alongside multibuy offers or bundles, for example; however, some of our current popular deals like a 99p checkout deal, a buy one get one free deal or freebies unfortunately won’t be coming back.
What about clearance, multi-buys and bundles?
The substantial discount and free distribution restrictions exclude normal business clearance products as well as multi-buys and bundles as long as the prices aren’t majorly discounted. It is also important that less popular or discontinued products aren’t wasted, so they will still be reduced into clearance.
It is important for us here at Vape.co.uk that, with the new Vaping Products Duty enforced on the 1st October, as well as this new Discount ban being enforced on the 29th October 2026, our regular customers and anyone else looking at vaping to quit smoking do not feel punished for kicking a bad habit. We will continue to communicate our deals within government guidelines to ensure bulk ordering and multi-buy offers are still readily available as much as they can be.
Stop-Smoking Services
In short, stop-smoking services can still provide free vapes as long as they are run within the arrangements with a public authority (for example the NHS or council-funded programme), but prohibit retailers from running their own giveaways.
These new rules are being enforced with the ethos that they are to lessen the attractiveness of vaping in a commercial and social context; therefore, in services such as stop-smoking services, the new rules do not prevent them.
Vape.co.uk: what has changed for us?
Age Verification
This isn’t so much a change for us, as we have an age verification system that screens customers to ensure they are above the age of 18 before allowing any order to be processed.
Special Offers
At Vape.co.uk, some of our offers currently incorporate a kit with a free 10ml e-liquid to get you started. Unfortunately, unless sold in agreed discounted bundle deals, these special offers cannot operate under the new regulations.
Clearance
The government guidance emphasises that unsold products can still be sold at a reduced price, as long as this price isn’t a substantial promotional discount. This means that we will be keeping our clearance section, which will transparently include less popular or discontinued products being reduced into clearance to avoid product waste.
Multi-buys
Bulk pricing is excluded from restrictions, as long as they don’t incur a substantial promotional discount. This means that the multi-buy offers can still exist under regulations.
No More Free Samples
Under the guidelines of the new vape discount ban on 29th October, we will not be providing any free samples.
What we can guarantee at Vape.co.uk
Commitment to Affordable Prices
Whilst we will be operating within regulation, the drive for competitive prices and affordable products for our customers remains at the forefront of our ethos as a company. Even without substantial discounts and freebies, we will work within government guidance to provide whatever deals are possible and communicate any changes with you clearly.
Offers In Line With Regulation
Annoyingly, the government have not released clear guidance on what counts as a ‘substantial discount’ in their enforcement of the free distribution and substantial discount regulations under the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026; therefore, we cannot say with confidence what we can offer in terms of offers. However, we are confident that we will still be offering multi-buys, bundle deals and clearance offers in one form or another; how these look, at the minute, we cannot say.
Excellent Customer Service
It is at the very heart of us here at Vape.co.uk to provide top-notch customer service. With an excellent team, we will continue to communicate any changes to the best of our ability. If you have any specific questions that we do not answer, do not hesitate to hop onto our live chat and speak to one of our very real customer service team (available every day 8am-8pm) or email helpers@vape.co.uk outside of hours, and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
Disclaimer:
This blog post is intended as general information about the Selling Vaping and Nicotine Product Guidance provided by the Department of Health and Social Care available at the time of publication. Rules and guidance and implementation of these regulations can change, so we urge customers and businesses to refer to the latest guidance for the most up-to-date information.
About the author – Megan Oakley
Megan Oakley is a content and copywriter at Vape.co.uk. She has an undergraduate degree in English and a postgraduate masters degree in Media and advertising from the University of Leicester. She weaves together extensive research and contemporary topics to create simple yet engaging articles focused on helping UK vapers make more informed choices.