New UK law forces online vape sellers to verify age
Key Points
- Tobacco and Vapes Act became law on 29 April 2026, banning tobacco sales to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009
- Online vape and tobacco retailers face a new UK retail licensing scheme with mandatory digital age verification
- Advertising and sponsorship ban hits social media platforms, influencer marketing, and online display ads
- Enforcement powers target illicit vape and tobacco sales on digital marketplaces
- 5.3 million UK smokers gain access to record funding for NHS stop-smoking services and digital quit support
The Tobacco and Vapes Act received Royal Assent on Wednesday (29 April), forcing UK online vape and tobacco retailers to overhaul their digital age verification systems or lose the right to trade.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting confirmed the legislation introduces a retail licensing scheme covering both physical shops and e-commerce platforms, alongside a ban on selling tobacco to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009.
Around 80,000 deaths a year in the UK are linked to smoking, and 5.3 million adults currently smoke, according to government figures cited in the announcement.
The law lands at a moment when online vape sales have exploded across platforms ranging from dedicated e-commerce sites to general marketplaces, with age checks frequently limited to a self-declared date of birth.
Retailers will now need to operate under a formal licence and demonstrate robust digital age verification at checkout, with enforcement powers extending to illicit sellers operating through social media, encrypted messaging apps, and third-party marketplaces.
Trading standards officers gain stronger tools to act against rogue online traders, and councils will police the new licensing regime.
The Act also bans advertising and sponsorship of vapes and nicotine products, a measure that hits influencer marketing on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, alongside paid display advertising and search promotions.
Powers to restrict packaging, branding, and product displays designed to appeal to children apply to online product imagery as well as physical retail. Heated tobacco products fall within the same advertising restrictions.
Online retailers selling vapes, cigarettes, or heated tobacco products face a compliance overhaul covering licensing, age verification, marketing, and packaging.
Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza welcomed the legislation as a step in protecting children from addiction, with focus now turning to enforcement.
Hazel Cheeseman, Chief Executive at Action on Smoking and Health, called the moment a watershed for public health, noting that smoking has prematurely taken millions of lives in the UK over the last 50 years.
Digital quit support and the NHS
Alongside the new restrictions, the government is investing record sums in stop-smoking services, including digital cessation tools and NHS-backed quit support for the 5.3 million adults who smoke.
Dr Claire Fuller, NHS England National Medical Director, said the NHS will provide advice and treatment to help hundreds of thousands of people stop smoking.
Online quit apps and remote support services form part of the broader package, alongside local authority programmes.
The government launched a consultation on 13 February on extending smoke-free zones to certain outdoor settings and creating heated tobacco and vape-free places, which could pull in further restrictions on where products are advertised digitally near schools, hospitals, and playgrounds.
