- Potential £318m reduction in retailer profits from vape sales over 10 years linked to proposed changes to product visibility
- Potential £244m reduction in retailer profits from vape sales linked to proposed standardised packaging
- £140m restocking costs for convenience and small retailers adapting to proposed display restrictions
- Proposed six-month timeframe for retailers to implement display restrictions
The UK government is planning to restrict the packaging, design, flavour names and display of vaping products under the Tobacco and Vapes Act. The proposals include the introduction of plain packaging, limiting flavour descriptors to a single recognised flavour name and a display ban.
A 12-month transition period is being put forward for restrictions on packaging, flavour names and device design, and just six months for retail displays.
As part of the consultation process, the Government has published impact assessments highlighting the operational and commercial implications for retailers. ELFBAR and LOST MARY are encouraging retailers to respond to the consultation survey before it closes on 2 October.
The consultation gives retailers an opportunity to share their frontline experience of how the proposals would work in real-world retail environments, as the sector prepares for another period of significant regulatory change.
The proposals aim to reduce the appeal of nicotine products to children and young people while supporting adult smokers who want to quit cigarettes. For any new measures to be effective, they must take into account the practical implications for retailers, who will be responsible for putting many of them into practice.
This insight is crucial to ensure any future rules achieve their intended objectives while remaining workable and proportionate.
The operational impact of proposed display changes
Proposed display restrictions would include changes to how retailers manage stock, storage and product displays. The assessment estimates £139.7m in restocking costs for convenience and small retailers and £19.2m for vape shops over the 10-year appraisal period, alongside storage costs of £6.6m for convenience retailers and £14.7m for vape shops.
In practice, these changes could mean staff spend more time retrieving products from behind displays and replenishing stock during shifts.
The analysis also models a £317.7m reduction in retailer profits from vape sales over the appraisal period, based on assumptions about how changes to product visibility could affect adult purchasing behaviour.
The operational impact of proposed packaging changes
The impact assessment on packaging requirements sets out further retailer costs, including £57.3m in reconfiguration costs as businesses adapt stockrooms, shelving and displays.
Based on the Government's figure that 74,187 UK retailers legally sell vapes (comprising convenience stores, specialist vape shops, supermarkets and pharmacies), this equates to around £772 per store. The assessment also estimates £5.7m in retailer training costs.
The analysis models a £243.8m reduction in retailer profits from vape sales over the appraisal period, based on projected changes in adult purchasing following the introduction of standardised packaging.
While the Government identifies the potential for the measures to reduce the appeal of vaping and nicotine products to children and young people, it acknowledges that many of the benefits cannot currently be quantified due to limitations in the available evidence base.
By contrast, the financial and operational implications for retailers are set out, reinforcing the importance of retailer feedback in ensuring measures are informed by the realities of running a business.
Giving retailers time to prepare
With the vape duty coming into effect in October 2026 and the consultation on a proposed retail licensing scheme for vapes and nicotine products anticipated in 2027, retailers face multiple overlapping regulatory changes following a period of significant adjustment after the single-use vapes ban.
Responding to the consultation on proposed vape packaging, flavour names, device design and display restrictions allows retailers to highlight the practical considerations and timeframes needed to adapt their operations.
Supporting informed participation among adult vapers and smokers
Retailers are also well placed to raise awareness among adult vapers, smokers and ex-smokers that they can share their views on the consultation proposals. As businesses that interact with these consumers every day, retailers can help ensure affected adults are aware of how the proposed changes could impact product availability and their purchasing experience.
The latest ASH data shows that more than half of smokers mistakenly believe that vapes are as or more harmful than cigarettes, highlighting the importance of proportionate regulation that does not reinforce this misperception or unintentionally discourage smokers from switching, supporting the UK’s smokefree ambitions.
Ensuring regulation works in practice
Responsible retailers already play a critical role in preventing underage sales by complying with age-verification requirements and challenging attempted purchases. However, there are concerns that further restrictions on compliant businesses will not address the minority of retailers and illicit operators who continue to sell vaping products to under-18s.
Eve Peters, director of government affairs for ELFBAR in the UK, comments: “Taking part in the consultation is an opportunity to help shape regulations that strike the right balance between protecting young people without unintentionally adding to existing misconceptions about vaping among adult smokers.
“Retailers have first-hand experience of adult smoker and vaper purchasing behaviour and understand how the proposed regulations would work in practice.
“By responding to the consultation, retailers can contribute to proportionate, evidence-based measures and ensure policymakers receive the insight from those who will deliver it.”
Retailers can also help adult vapers and ex-smokers have their say by signposting customers to the ELFBAR and LOST MARY websites, where they can find information about the proposals and a link to respond directly to the Government’s consultation survey.