As we’ve previously written about, the government has followed up on their promise to clamp down on single-use vapes by introducing a ban effective from June 1st 2025. 

The ban will apply to all retailers – including convenience stores, market stalls, petrol stations, supermarkets as well as specialist vape shops. 

It will also cover manufacturers, wholesalers, importers and healthcare settings and “stop smoking” services. 

There are various legal sanctions depending on where your premises is located in the UK. 

For England each local authority’s Trading Standards department leads on enforcing the ban within their area. 

If they find a business selling single-use vapes then in the first instance they can apply civil sanctions such as a stop notice; compliance notice or a £200 fine. 

Any single-use vapes found can be seized and if businesses continue to stock, sell or supply these products (or offer to) then they can then be charged with an unlimited fine or even a prison sentence of up to two years. They may also incur an additional cost recovery notice which means they would have to pay the investigative, administrative and legal costs of the investigation. 

Businesses with single-use vapes after the ban is enforced must arrange for any leftover stock to be recycled.

Why the ban?

Despite the ban, Vaping is still a growth market with an estimated four million vapers living in the UK sustaining a market worth approximately £1.2 billion with more than a third (35%) of sales taking place by retailers.

It’s estimated that there are around 2,900 specialist vape shops in the UK, making it Europe’s largest market and the second largest in the world behind the USA.  This figure does not invoice newsagents, market stalls or any other stores that sell vapes among other products. 

Disposable vapes were the most popular product in the vaping market, making up 83% of all vape sales in 2022. 

The government pledged to make the UK smoke-free by 2030 and the latest trends for young people taking up vaping are alarming and a challenge to this ambition. 

In 2022, 15.8% of 11-17 year olds and a third of 16-17 year olds had tried vaping. More worryingly, almost half (46.5%) of 11-17 year olds had bought their vape products from shops – despite sales to under 18s being banned. 

Despite this, Trading Standards have seen complaints about illegal vape sales rise from dozens to hundreds a month and have seized thousands of counterfeit and unregulated products but with limited resources, they couldn’t investigate and take action on every tip off and lead they received.

Defra also provided evidence on the tremendous environmental impact both single-use and reusable vapes are having on the environment. 

They cited the impact on wildlife noting that birds, fish and marine mammals can mistake discarded vapes for food and ingest poisonous chemicals as a result. Also when littered or even sent to landfill, single-use vapes release lead and mercury into the ecosystem along with the plastics used to create the products saying that while one vape promises 600 puffs – the plastic casing alone would last for more than 600 years buried in the earth. 

They quote research from environmental charity Material Focus which found that almost five million single-use vapes were disposed of in a year. As well as wasting valuable metals which can be recycled such as copper or lithium, the vapes batteries also made them fire risks. In 2023, there were over 1,200 battery fires in bin lorries and waste sites across the UK – an annual increase of 70% with vapes believed to be responsible for this dangerous spike. 


A majority of the public support this change, with 69% in favour when asked in a consultation in February 2024.  

The smoke clears on the future of vape shops – and it doesn’t look good

Along with the ban on single-use vapes, there are several other challenges to vape sellers to take into account if they wish to continue operating profitably. 

  • Consumer health

While vapes and e-cigarettes were originally introduced to attempt to support smokers in quitting and were proved to be effective with the level of smoking in the UK in 2022 at its lowest level for over a decade.

They were never intended to be a long-term alternative to cigarettes nor for non-smokers to use them recreationally. 

A public consultation in February 2024 found that 69% of the public supported the ban on single-use vapes. 

  • A gateway to crime? 

In April 2023, the then Health Minister Neil O’Brien announced an “illicit vapes enforcement squad” was being created with £3 million of funding to enforce rule on vaping and target both illicit vapes and underage sales. 

Lawful retailers are having to do more to comply with the law including more paperwork, more time spent on “Challenge 25” training and longer interactions with customers as a result.

  • Dealing with a saturated market 

Now the availability of E-Cigs and vapes has become more widespread over the years, customers don’t have to rely on specialist vape stores to get their fix with local supermarkets, corner shops retailers and even club toilets previously offering them. 

The outlawing of single-use vapes and inevitable follow-up enforcement will cause strain on existing general retailers although unlike specialist vape stores, they are not solely reliant on sales to keep their businesses running.

End of the line

If you’re a retailer that specialises in single-use vapes or rechargeable ones and are worried about the future of your business, there are some options that are available to you. 

One immediate route is administration. This will give you and your business time to plan your next professional steps and whether the current situation can be rescued and turned around.

If there is no realistic and profitable way forward then a voluntary liquidation could be the next logical move to make.

If you’ve previously been successful and the company is solvent then you could opt for a Members Voluntary Liquidation (MVL). Alternatively, if the past few years haven’t been too kind to your business and you either are insolvent or can see no alternative then a Creditors Voluntary Liquidation (CVL) would be the best option.

If you’re a vape store or other business that relies on e-cigarettes or vaping then now is the time to get your ducks in a row and act before it’s too late.

We offer a free initial consultation for any director or business owner who’d like to better understand what legal tools are available to them if they’d like to make changes before change is forced on them.