Vaping Prices to Rise as New Tax Takes Effect

The government is trying to make vaping more expensive and less appealing to young people by imposing a new tax on products.

The Vaping Product Duty will be imposed at a rate of £2. 20 per 10ml of e-liquid, with sellers having six months to sell old stock at the pre-duty price.

HMRC said this maintains the financial incentive for smokers to switch to vaping.

Tobacco rates were also raised on Thursday by £2. 20 per 100 cigarettes or 50g of tobacco.

The new tax is part of a broader effort to reduce youth vaping and combat illicit trade.

Experts say vaping is much safer than smoking, but it is not risk-free and the long-term effects are less clear.

A recent review of vaping studies found that it had an association with problems in children and young people including wheezing and coughing, poor oral and dental health, poor sleep, mental health problems and eye symptoms.

The NHS has said that children and non-smokers should never vape.

Additional reporting by Neranjana Elapatha