Help & Guidance — Purple Haze MK
What Vapes Are Illegal in the UK?
Single-use disposable vapes have been illegal to sell or supply in the UK since 1 June 2025. Several other product types are also non-compliant: nicotine above 20mg/ml, tanks over 2ml, refill bottles over 10ml and unregistered products. Rechargeable refillable and prefilled pod vapes remain fully legal for adults 18 and over.
Vaping itself is entirely legal in the UK for adults aged 18 and over. What changed on 1 June 2025 is that single-use disposable vapes — devices that cannot be recharged and cannot be refilled or have their pods replaced — became illegal to sell or supply across all four UK nations. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which cleared Parliament in April 2026 and awaits Royal Assent, will add further restrictions on flavour naming, packaging and advertising. From October 2026, a new Vaping Products Duty of £2.20 per 10ml of e-liquid applies to all vaping liquid. For consumers, the key practical change is that the disposables you may have been buying before June 2025 can no longer be legally purchased anywhere in the UK.
What Is and Is Not Legal to Sell in the UK in 2026
Single-use disposable vapes
Illegal to sell — since 1 June 2025Any vape device that cannot be recharged AND cannot be refilled or have its consumable part replaced is a single-use disposable and is illegal to sell or supply. This includes all devices banned under the Environmental Protection (Single-use Vapes) England Regulations 2024 and equivalent devolved legislation. Applies to nicotine-free disposables as well as nicotine-containing ones. Retailers who sell remaining disposable stock after the June 2025 deadline commit a criminal offence.
Nicotine e-liquid above 20mg/ml
Illegal — TPD limitThe Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 (TRPR) cap nicotine concentration in e-liquids at 20mg/ml (2%). Any e-liquid sold with more than 20mg/ml nicotine is non-compliant and illegal to sell. This applies to both freebase nicotine and nicotine salts. Products sold online claiming to contain 25mg, 50mg or higher nicotine concentrations in e-liquid format are illegal in the UK regardless of claimed origin.
E-liquid bottles over 10ml (nicotine-containing)
Illegal — TPD limitNicotine-containing e-liquid may only be sold in containers of 10ml or less. Bottles of 20ml, 30ml, 50ml or larger containing nicotine are non-compliant. Shortfill bottles of these larger sizes are legal because they contain no nicotine and are sold separately from nicotine "shots" which are added by the consumer — but a pre-filled large bottle with nicotine in it is illegal.
Vape tanks and pods over 2ml
Illegal — TPD limitThe maximum liquid capacity for a vape tank or pod in a product sold for use is 2ml. Devices sold with built-in tanks exceeding 2ml are non-compliant. Note: replacement "bubble glass" sold separately to expand an existing tank is a workaround that currently sits in a grey area for consumers but the device as sold must have a 2ml-compliant tank.
Unregistered products — no MHRA notification
Illegal — MHRA registration requiredEvery vaping product sold in the UK must be notified to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) before it can legally reach shelves. Products sold without MHRA registration — common with grey-market imports from unofficial Chinese wholesale sites — are non-compliant regardless of their physical specifications. TPD compliance markings on the packaging confirm registration.
Vapes sold to under-18s
Criminal offence for the retailerSelling any vaping product — including nicotine-free devices — to anyone under 18 is illegal. Retailers face fines of up to £2,500 per offence. Trading Standards runs regular test purchase operations. Proxy purchasing (an adult buying on behalf of a minor) is also a criminal offence.
Rechargeable refillable pod kits
Fully legal — 18+All rechargeable, refillable vaping devices meeting TRPR requirements are legal. This includes pod kits, pen kits, box mods and any device where you fill e-liquid yourself. Must comply with 2ml pod/tank limit, 20mg/ml maximum nicotine and MHRA registration. This is the main product category for the UK market in 2026.
Rechargeable prefilled pod systems
Fully legal — 18+The replacement for single-use disposables. A rechargeable battery unit with separately purchasable prefilled pods. The pod is replaced rather than the whole device. Compliant versions from brands including Lost Mary and Geek Bar are legal. The battery is recharged via USB-C and the pod is swapped when empty.
Vaping Products Duty — October 2026
Coming 1 October 2026From 1 October 2026, a new tax of £2.20 per 10ml of e-liquid (22p per ml) applies to all vaping liquid sold in the UK, regardless of nicotine content. This will increase the retail cost of e-liquid substantially. Registrations for the duty opened 1 April 2026. This is a tax, not a ban — all legal vaping products remain available.
TPD Compliance: The Key Product Rules at a Glance
| Requirement | Legal limit | What this means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum nicotine strength | 20mg/ml (2%) | Standard UK nic salt products at 10mg, 20mg are compliant. Products over 20mg/ml are illegal. |
| Maximum nicotine e-liquid bottle size | 10ml | Standard 10ml nic salt bottles are compliant. Larger pre-nicotine bottles are illegal. Shortfills are legal as they contain no nicotine. |
| Maximum tank/pod capacity | 2ml | All compliant pods and tanks hold 2ml. Devices with larger built-in tanks are non-compliant. |
| MHRA product registration | Required before sale | All products must be notified to the MHRA. TPD markings on packaging confirm registration. |
| Age of sale | 18 and over | Applies to all vaping products including nicotine-free devices. Retailers must age-verify. |
| Single-use devices | Banned since 1 June 2025 | Any device that cannot be both recharged and refilled/have replaceable parts is illegal to sell. |
| Vaping Products Duty | £2.20 per 10ml (from 1 Oct 2026) | Tax on all e-liquid regardless of nicotine content. Not a ban — legal products remain available. |
Single-use disposable vapes became illegal to sell or supply across all four UK nations — any remaining disposable stock sold after this date constitutes a criminal offence
UK law caps nicotine in e-liquid at 20mg/ml — products claiming higher nicotine concentrations in e-liquid form are non-compliant and illegal regardless of claimed origin
A new Vaping Products Duty of £2.20 per 10ml applies from 1 October 2026 — this increases e-liquid costs but does not ban any currently legal product
What About the Tobacco and Vapes Bill?
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill cleared both Houses of Parliament on 21 April 2026 and is awaiting Royal Assent. Once it becomes law, it will introduce several additional restrictions that are not yet in force:
- New powers for Trading Standards to issue on-the-spot fines for age verification failures at retail level.
- Restrictions on vape flavour names designed to appeal to children — names referencing sweets, confectionery or desserts that have been associated with youth vaping uptake.
- Restrictions on packaging colour, imagery and design intended to appeal to under-18s.
- Vape-free zones created near schools, hospitals and playgrounds.
- Advertising restrictions tightening rules on how vaping products can be promoted.
None of these provisions are yet in force and none represent a ban on legal adult vaping products. The Bill strengthens regulation of the supply chain and marketing, not the products themselves for adult consumers.
Vaping is legal in the UK for adults 18 and over and there are no government proposals to ban it outright. The regulatory changes since 2025 — the disposable ban, the upcoming Tobacco and Vapes Bill provisions and the October 2026 vape tax — all target specific concerns: youth access, environmental waste and product safety. The core activity of adult vaping with compliant rechargeable equipment and legally purchased e-liquid is unaffected. Purple Haze MK stocks only fully TPD-compliant products at Stall 109, Milton Keynes Market.
Part of Our Guide
Help & Guidance Centre
This article is part of the Purple Haze MK Help and Guidance Centre. For more vaping law guidance, visit the Purple Haze MK Help and Guidance Centre.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still buy disposable vapes anywhere in the UK?
No. Single-use disposable vapes are illegal to sell or supply across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland since 1 June 2025. Any retailer still selling them after that date is committing a criminal offence. If you see them advertised, that is a strong indicator of a non-compliant supplier. The legal alternative is rechargeable prefilled pod systems — devices where the battery is recharged via USB-C and the pod is replaced when empty — which provide a similar experience without being single-use.
Is it illegal to own a disposable vape you bought before the ban?
The June 2025 ban targets the sale and supply of disposable vapes, not possession by consumers who already own them. If you purchased a disposable vape before the ban came into force, possessing and using it is not illegal. The enforcement focus is entirely on the retail and supply chain, not on individual consumers.
Are high-nicotine vapes from abroad legal to bring into the UK?
No. UK law limits nicotine e-liquid to 20mg/ml regardless of where the product originated. Importing e-liquid with higher nicotine concentrations for personal use is technically a breach of TRPR regulations. In practice, customs enforcement on small personal quantities is limited, but commercially importing or selling non-compliant products is a clear offence. Any vaping product sold in the UK — including online — must be TRPR compliant regardless of where it is manufactured.
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For more vaping law guidance, visit the Purple Haze MK Help and Guidance Centre.
Compliant Vaping Products in Milton Keynes
Purple Haze MK — Fully TPD-Compliant
Every product we stock at Purple Haze MK is fully TPD-compliant and MHRA-registered. Visit us at Stall 109, Milton Keynes Market for expert advice and a wide range of legal vaping products.