LONDON, July 10 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news:

* Plans to keep vapes out of sight in shops,airportsand wholesalers * Plainpackaging for all tobacco products, including cigars and cigarette papers

Plansto stop vapes being marketed to children have been unveiled today (10 July)as part of a UK-wideconsultationtointroduce plain packaging, restrictions on flavour description rulesand keeping vapes out of sight in shops.

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) report that around one million 11-17 year olds in Great Britain reported trying vaping in 2025. Evidence suggests that colourful packaging, prominent retaildisplaysand child-appealing flavours are among the factors drivingyoung people to take it up.

TheUK government and the devolved governments have launched aconsultationthatincludesproposalsto reduce the appeal ofvapesto young children,includingwhite packaging withrestrictions on text colour, imagery,brandingandstandardisedproduct information.

There will also be restrictions onflavour names tosimple recognisable descriptionsandvape devices to be white,blackor grey.

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care James Murray said:

The evidence is clear: there are too many young people experimenting with vapes, attracted by the array of flavours, brightcoloursand marketing displays.

We want a healthier future for the next generation, so we must act now to reduce the appeal of addictive vapes to our children.

Vapesare less harmful than cigarettes andcan play an important role in helping adult smokerstoquit, but they should never be designed or marketed in ways that tempt children. These proposals are about striking the rightbalanceand I urge everyone to have their say.

Standardised packaging has helped reduce the appeal of smoking since its introduction for cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco in 2017.

Theconsultationproposesto extend these requirements for all tobacco products, including cigars and cigarette papers.

Furtherproposalsinclude introducingpositive quit themedinsertsdirecting smokerstoresources to quitandhealth warnings forall tobacco products, as well asremovingdisplays for tobacco products induty-free settings and airports.

The consultation follows the passage of the Tobacco and Vapes Act, which received Royal Assent on 29 April2026, and sets out proposals tocreate the UK's first smoke-free generation,protectingchildren from nicotine addiction,while ensuring adultsmokerscanstillaccess vaping products to help them quit.

There is also growing awareness and use among young people of other nicotine products, including nicotine pouches, which are covered by several of the proposed measures.

Scotland Public Health Minister Maree Todd said:

Scotland has been a world-leader on a range of tobacco control measures, and while there has been a steady reduction in smoking rates, we know it still damages lives and kills more than 7,000 people a year in Scotland.

The use of vapes has increased in recent years, particularly among children and young people - with almost one in five children saying they have tried vaping.

We know that colourful packaging and displays are used as an enticement to children and young people, which is why we are taking action and consulting on options to address this issue. We urge everyone to have their say on how these products are marketed and sold in the future to help protect children and young people and reduce preventable harm in Scotland.

Northern Ireland Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said:

The rise in vaping amongst children and young people concerns me. Restricting the visibility of these products will lessen their appeal, which in turn will reduce youth vaping and prevent future generations from nicotine addiction.

I consider it vital that we get the views from the public on the future of displaying and packaging of these products. I would encourage everyone to take the time to respond to this consultation.

Wales Deputy Minister for Preventative and Public Health Nerys Evans said:

Vapes are being deliberately designed and marketed to appeal to children - with bright colours, cartoon branding and sweet-sounding flavour names that have no place in products containing addictive nicotine.

It is simply unacceptable and I would encourage urge everyone to support our efforts to protect children's health.

Professor Steve Turner, President of The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) said:  

Any measures that improve child health are welcome and much needed. As paediatricians, we are deeply concerned by the insidious marketing practices used by tobacco and vaping companies to target our future generations.   

For those of us working with children every day, it is clear that only strong and meaningful regulation will protect them from the harms associated with nicotine addiction. We welcome this consultation as an important step towards creating a healthier future for children and young people.

HazelCheeseman,Chief Executiveof ASH,said:

Protecting children from harmful vape marketing is the right thing to do. Attractive, colourful branding and images have driven the appeal of vapes to children leading to an increase in use. At the same time there is a careful balance to strike with regulations. While vapes are not harm free, they are significantly less harmful than smoking and vapes have helped millions of people successfully stop smoking in recent years.

The task now is to thread the needle of making vaping less appealing to children without making it less effective for adults who want to quit smoking. Get that balance wrong, and we risk slowing progress against smoking, the leading cause of preventable death.

The consultation seeks views on proposals for vapes and nicotine products including:

* Introducing plain white packaging withrestrictions on text colour, imagery, limitedbrandingand standardised safety information * Restricting flavour names to only simple recognisable descriptions (e.g. "Apple"), banning concept and sensory names as well as names relating to confectionery, sweets,dessertsand alcohol * Mandatingmanufacturers of vape devices to make them white,blackor grey, with no images, limited branding, no cosmeticlightsand screens only displaying safety information (e.g. battery level) * Restrict shop displays in the same way as tobacco products.

Further measures in the proposals for tobacco productsinclude:

* Extendingexisting plain packaging requirements andhealth warningsfor cigarettesacross all tobacco products, herbal smoking products,cigarettepapersandheatedtobacco devices. * Introducingpositivequit-support messages insideall tobacco products, includingcigarettes,hand-rollingtobacco,herbal smokingproductsandheated tobacco devices * Extendingexisting tobacco display restrictions to all tobacco related products, cigarette papers, herbal smoking products * Removingan existing display exemption for bulk tobacconists,includingduty-freeshopsand airports, meaning that tobacco products would be restricted from display in these settings * Restrictingheated tobacco devices to a drab brown colour the same as tobacco packaging, with no images, limited branding, no cosmeticlightsand screens only displaying safety information (e.g. battery level)

This consultation is part of wider action to tackle youth vaping. It follows a ban onsingle-usevapes(1 June 2025),andcomes ahead of the introduction of a Vaping Products Duty (1October 2026), future bans on the sale of vapes from vending machines and their free distribution (29 October 2026), and an end to the advertising and sponsorship of vapes (1 June 2027).

Cllr Dr Wendy Taylor MBE, Chair of the Local Government Association's Health and Wellbeing Committee, said:

Reducing the appeal of vapes to children with tighter controls on flavours, packaging and promotion, will be key to addressing the concerning rise in youth vaping.

There is no legitimate reason for nicotine products to come in neon packaging, feature cartoon images, or use flavours and branding designed to catch a child's eye. Products designed, packaged, and promoted in ways that appeal to children havelikely contributedto one in five 11- to 17-year-olds having now tried vaping.

Councils have long called for an end to vapes being dressed up like sweets and sold within arm's reach of the pick and mix. This consultation is the moment to close the loopholes that have enabled these products that appeal to children to remain on sale.

Ailsa Rutter OBE, Director of Fresh and Balance, said:

We welcome measures in the Tobacco and Vapes Act that support our vision of ending the death and disease caused by tobacco and preventing future generations from taking up lethal smoking.

We support standardised packaging of all tobacco products. This would have the biggest impact if itisalongside public awareness campaigns on the harms of tobacco and benefits of quitting.

We know nicotine vapes are playinga very importantrole in helping people quit smoking, but it is right that action is taken to reduce youth appeal. It is vital that regulations do not increase harm misconceptions about vaping compared with smoking, and that the impact of all these policies on health inequalities is closelymonitored.

Dr Ian Walker, executive director of policy and information of Cancer Research UK, said:

Evidence so far shows that legal vapes are far less harmful than tobacco, but we still don't know their long-term impact,so it'sabsolutely right that the UK Government is taking steps to reduce the appeal and availability of vapes to young people and those who have never smoked.

As vapes are an effective cessation tool, any new regulation must make sure they are still accessible to people trying to stop smoking. Tobaccoremainsthe biggest cause of cancer in the UK, sowe'realso pleased to see plans to extend plain packaging to all tobacco products, which is proven to help shield children from a deadly addiction.

Thanks to the world-leading Tobacco and Vapes Act becoming law, a future free from the devastating harms of tobacco is firmly within reach. Governments across the UK must now ensure the Act is implemented fully in every nation.

Andrew McCracken, Director of External Affairs at Asthma + Lung UK, said:

This is an important first step to reduce the appeal of vaping products to children and young people. The brazen marketing of vapes to children is reprehensible and needs to be stopped.

We do not want to see anybody vaping, other than for smoking cessation. Vapes do playan important roleto smokers looking to quit, but if youdon'tsmokedon'tvape.

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Executive at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said:

Eye-catching branding, bright colours, and enticing names have no place on vaping products that should never be used by children.

Too many lives are still cut short by tobacco-related heart attacks and strokes, so the Government is right to look at ways of making tobacco and vaping products less attractive to young people.

Having already taken the historic step of stopping future generations from ever being legally sold cigarettes, the Government must now press ahead with confidence and urgency to create a smokefree generation sooner than any thought possible.

Alison Challenger, Policy Co-Lead for Addiction at the Association of Directors of Public Health, said:

We are pleased to see this consultation launched to support stronger restrictions on tobacco and vape product packaging. These products are designed to attract and keep our communities, and more worryingly our children and young people, hooked on these health-harming products, often through eye-catching marketing, youth-friendly messaging, and strategic placement.

That is why we need standardised, plain packaging, particularly across vapes, that strips away the branding and promotional design used to make these products enticing. Alongside this, we need to better support people to quit smoking and make the harms of tobacco clearer.

Only by reducing the appeal and accessibility of these products can we stop the harms of smoking and create a smoke-free future where everyone, especially our children and young people, have the freedom to live healthier lives.

Background

* This consultation is UK-wide. * Proposed regulations in this consultation stem from powers within the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 29 April. * The consultation runs for 12 weeks from launch. * No immediate changes to law are being made at this stage. * Regulations will be developed following analysis of consultation responses. * Medicinally licensed nicotine products are exempt from these proposals and are subject to different legislation. * Tobaccoproductsinclude:cigars,cigarillos,pipe tobacco,waterpipe tobacco (e.gshisha),nasal tobacco (snuff),chewing tobacco,heated tobacco,blunts.Cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco are already covered by plain packaging legislationandwill have pack inserts introducedin due course.The consultation will cover all tobacco products, meaning it is futureproofed for any tobacco new product that is developed. * Proposed plain packaging legislationin line with existing cigarette packagingis for alltobacco products, herbal smoking products, heated tobacco devices & cigarette papers. * Proposed quit-themed pack inserts forall tobacco products, herbal smokingproductsand heated tobacco devices but not cigarette papers due to their small size.

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.