Colourful vape packaging and sweet-inspired flavours could face restrictions under new government proposals designed to prevent marketing to children. Officials have started a 12-week consultation on measures to limit how vaping products are packaged, branded and shown in stores. Health Secretary James Murray noted that many young people are drawn to experiment with vapes due to vivid colours, flavours and promotional strategies. The suggested rules would require plain packaging with tight controls on branding. Flavour names would be limited to basic descriptions such as apple or cola. Vapes might also be placed out of view in shops, similar to existing rules for cigarettes and tobacco. Murray stated that evidence shows too many young people try vapes because of the range of flavours, bright colours and marketing displays. Action is needed to lessen the appeal of addictive vapes to children. While vapes are less harmful than cigarettes and can help adult smokers quit, they should not be designed or promoted to tempt young people. The proposals aim to find the right balance, and the public is encouraged to respond. Health experts say there is no valid reason for nicotine products to feature neon colours, cartoon images or branding attractive to children. The consultation follows the Tobacco and Vapes Act, which seeks to create the UK’s first smoke-free generation while permitting adult smokers access to vaping products for quitting. The law imposes a lifelong ban on buying cigarettes for anyone aged 17 or under, as shops cannot sell tobacco to those born after 1 January 2009. It also grants powers for further limits, such as banning vaping in cars with children, playgrounds, near schools and at hospitals. The packaging proposals follow the recent single-use vape ban and precede additional restrictions. Future steps include prohibiting vape sales from vending machines and ending advertising and sponsorship. Concerns over rising youth vaping rates have prompted the move. Data from Action on Smoking and Health indicate that around one million, or nearly one in five, 11 to 17-year-olds in Great Britain tried vaping in 2025. The consultation also covers adding inserts in cigarette packs to direct smokers to quitting support and extending plain packaging rules to all tobacco items, including rolling papers and cigars.
