29th September 2026
Smokers and vapers are about to face another increase in the cost of their habit, but this time the change is particularly significant because the Government is introducing a completely new tax on vaping at the same time as increasing tobacco duty.
From 1 October 2026, Vaping Products Duty will come into force at £2.20 for every 10ml of vaping liquid. The duty applies whether or not the liquid contains nicotine. At the same time, tobacco duty will rise again.
For someone buying a 10ml bottle of vape liquid, the new duty is £2.20. For 20ml it is £4.40, 30ml £6.60 and 50ml £11.
That is the tax before considering how manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers pass the additional cost through the supply chain. VAT also applies to the final selling price.
The new duty is calculated simply according to the volume of liquid rather than its nicotine strength. HMRC describes the rate as 22p per millilitre. A 2ml pod, for example, carries 44p of duty, while a 10ml refill carries £2.20.
This is the first time Britain has introduced a specific excise duty on vaping products.
The Government says the measure is part of its wider plans to tackle youth vaping and support its ambition to create a smoke-free generation. It also argues that introducing a tax on vaping alongside higher tobacco duty maintains a significant financial incentive for smokers to move away from cigarettes.
But for existing vapers, the change will simply look like another increase in the cost of everyday life.
Cigarettes are going up too
Tobacco users are not escaping the October increase.
From 1 October, the duty on cigarettes becomes £394.09 per 1,000 cigarettes plus 16.5% of the retail price, subject to the minimum excise duty. The minimum rate rises to £518.75 per 1,000 cigarettes.
Hand-rolling tobacco will face a particularly substantial increase, with the duty rising to £574.30 per kilogram.
Cigar duty rises to £508.12 per kilogram, other smoking and chewing tobacco to £248.07 per kilogram, and heated tobacco to £426.47 per kilogram.
The October tobacco increase isn't simply the normal annual adjustment. The Government has also added an additional £2.20 per 100 cigarettes and £2.20 per 50g of other tobacco products, on top of the tobacco-duty escalator.
That means smokers are being hit by two elements of the tax increase at once.
Will a packet of cigarettes rise by £1 or more?
Not necessarily by exactly that amount.
The amount paid in duty depends on the product and its retail price, while manufacturers and retailers decide how much of the increase they pass on to customers.
The important point for consumers is that the tax increase is only one part of the final shop price. Companies may absorb some of the increase, pass all of it on, or use the occasion to change their own prices.
For smokers who buy regularly, however, even apparently small increases accumulate.
Someone smoking a packet a day is buying around 365 packets a year. An extra £1 per packet would therefore amount to roughly £365 over a year. An extra £2 would mean around £730.
For someone buying tobacco to roll their own cigarettes, the effect will depend on how much they use and the price increase eventually charged by retailers.
Vaping is different
The new vaping tax could have an interesting effect because it is based on volume.
A large bottle of e-liquid will attract substantially more duty than a small one, regardless of whether it contains nicotine.
HMRC estimates that the new Vaping Products Duty will raise more than £550 million a year by 2030-31.
There is also a transition period which means consumers will not necessarily see every vape product become more expensive immediately on 1 October.
Retailers can continue selling eligible unstamped stock they already hold until 31 March 2027. Products manufactured in or imported into Britain from 1 October will, however, have to comply with the new duty arrangements. From 1 April 2027, all vaping products sold or supplied in the UK outside duty suspension must carry a valid vaping duty stamp.
So there may be a period when shops have old and new stock sitting alongside each other.
Another cost increase for households
The tax changes are aimed at particular products and are intended to influence behaviour. But from the household's point of view they arrive alongside a long list of other increases.
Energy bills are changing. Fuel prices remain a concern. Food prices have been rising again. Insurance, transport and many other household costs have also increased.
For someone who smokes or vapes regularly, the October tax change therefore becomes another recurring household expense rather than simply an annual Budget statistic.
There is also a wider question about the balance between taxation and public health.
The Government wants fewer people smoking and wants to discourage young people from taking up vaping. Higher taxation can therefore be viewed as part of that strategy.
But vaping has also become a way for many existing smokers to move away from cigarettes. The Government itself acknowledges that vaping is less harmful than smoking and can help adult smokers quit, while saying that children and non-smokers should not vape.
That makes the October changes rather more complicated than simply putting up the price of cigarettes.
Britain is simultaneously making smoking more expensive and introducing a tax on one of the alternatives used by smokers trying to move away from cigarettes.
The real test will be what happens afterwards.
If cigarette prices continue rising while vaping also becomes more expensive, will more smokers give up altogether, will some switch to vaping despite the higher cost, or will some consumers look for cheaper and potentially illicit alternatives?
There is already a substantial illicit market in both tobacco and vaping products, so enforcement will be an important part of whether the policy achieves its intended effect.
For consumers, however, the message is much simpler.
From 1 October, both cigarettes and vaping liquids become more heavily taxed. And for millions of people, another part of the household budget is about to get more expensive.