The Three Dates

Date	What changes
29 October 2026	All vaping and nicotine products become 18+. Proxy purchasing becomes an offence. Free giveaways and substantial discounts become offences where the purpose or effect is promotional. Vending machines that sell these products are banned. Fixed penalty notices become available across all four nations.
1 January 2027	It becomes an offence to sell tobacco, herbal smoking products or cigarette papers to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009. Updated age-of-sale notices become mandatory.
1 June 2027	The government intends to commence the wider advertising and sponsorship restrictions. This still requires secondary legislation and sits outside the new retailer guidance.

The guidance applies across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, though penalties differ by nation.

Every Vaping and Nicotine Product Becomes 18+

From 29 October, selling a vaping or nicotine product to anyone under 18 is an offence, in store and online. The scope is wider than many till policies currently assume. It covers devices, e-liquid, coils and pods, plus nicotine pouches, strips and pearls. It covers 0mg and non-nicotine products, and synthetic nicotine. Batteries, chargers, leads, medical devices and medicinal products are outside scope.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland this replaces a rule that previously applied only to nicotine vapes. In Scotland, nicotine products are being added to restrictions already covering vapes.

Action required: Re-scope your till prompts and online age gate to include 0mg lines, pouches, strips and pearls.

Proxy Purchasing Now Covers the Full Category

From 29 October, it is an offence for anyone aged 18 or over to buy, or try to buy, a vaping or nicotine product for someone under 18. The offence sits with the purchaser. But the guidance is clear that staff should be trained to spot these situations and refuse the sale.

Action required: Add proxy scenarios to refusal training and record them in your refusals log.

Free Samples, Gifts and Coupons

From 29 October, giving away a vaping or nicotine product, or a coupon for one, is an offence where the purpose or effect is promotional. Three details are easy to miss. A coupon means anything redeemable for a product, service, cash or other benefit, including an emailed code. It also covers items that are not nicotine products but promote one: the guidance's own example is a vape charger carrying vape branding. It applies in store, online and through third-party promotions. Free pods offered as a gift, and free samples to try, are both given as offences. A defence applies where a retailer holds a formal contract with a public authority, such as a local stop-smoking service, and is acting within that agreement.

Action required: Review every live and planned promotion involving free product, gifts, sampling, competitions or codes.

Substantial Discounts: What Is Banned and What Is Not

From 29 October, selling vaping or nicotine products, or coupons for them, at a substantial discount is an offence where the purpose or effect is promotional. The guidance defines this as a price reduction that significantly lowers the cost against the standard selling price. Selling at a nominal sum such as 10p would likely be an offence.

Equally important is what stays permitted. The guidance confirms that normal discounting is unaffected, that unsold stock can still be cleared at a reduced price, and that bulk and trade discounts may still apply.

Action required: Separate routine clearance and trade terms from promotions built around a headline low price. Take advice on anything sitting between the two.

Vending Machines

From 29 October, it is an offence for a person with management or control of premises to have a machine from which customers can buy tobacco, herbal smoking products, cigarette papers, vaping products or nicotine products, or that dispenses them to a customer as part of a sale, even where payment happens elsewhere.

The machine does not have to be scrapped. It may still be used as secure storage, provided it does not sell or dispense to customers. A machine that dispenses to a staff member handling the sale is given as a permitted example. It can also be moved somewhere customers cannot reach. Liability sits with the person controlling the premises, not the machine's owner, unless they are the same party.

Action required: Decide now whether each machine is removed, relocated or reconfigured to staff-dispense only, and speak to the operator early.

Fixed Penalty Notices: The Numbers

Trading Standards enforces in England, Wales and Scotland; local councils in Northern Ireland.

Nation	Penalty
England and Wales	£200, payable within 28 days, halved to £100 if paid within 14 days. This replaces the existing £90 proxy purchasing fixed penalty notice.
Scotland	£200, reduced to £150 for early payment, and escalating: each previous enforcement action within two years adds £200.
Northern Ireland	Subject to Assembly approval: up to £250 for retail sale offences and £500 for registration offences, with a 25 percent early-payment reduction.

Fixed penalty notices are the floor. Free distribution and substantial discount offences can also be prosecuted, carrying up to two years' imprisonment on indictment in England and Wales. Repeat offenders can face restricted premises or restricted sales orders banning sales for up to 12 months.

January 2027: The Generational Rule

From 1 January 2027, tobacco, herbal smoking products and cigarette papers cannot be sold to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009. This is a fixed-date check, not a rolling age calculation.

Age-of-sale notices must be updated to read "It is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009", at a minimum of A3 size. Character height and bilingual requirements vary by nation, and the regulations remain subject to approval. Printable versions are already available so retailers can plan. For vapes and nicotine products, the threshold stays at 18+.

What Has Not Changed

Headlines about vape displays, packaging, flavour descriptions and device appearance relate to a consultation the government launched in July 2026. No changes to the law are being made at this stage. These are not current retail requirements.

Checklist for This Quarter

1. Re-scope till prompts and the online age gate to cover 0mg vapes, pouches, strips and pearls.
2. Train and document staff on 18+ scope and proxy refusals.
3. Audit all live and planned promotions involving free product, gifts, samples or codes.
4. Separate lawful clearance and trade discounting from promotional low-price mechanics.
5. Decide the future of each vending machine and contact the operator.
6. Order compliant A3 signage ahead of January 2027.
7. Confirm with suppliers how they are handling the October changeover alongside duty stamping.