Tobacco, Cigarettes and Vapes licensing

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is the Government’s proposal to slowly phase out the sale of tobacco products across the country as well as introduce a licensing scheme for selling tobacco, vapes and nicotine products in England and Wales and to extend the retail registration scheme in Scotland. This webpage only deals with the proposed changes to the law in England and Wales (not Scotland).

The Bill also seeks to modify, amend, extend and re-enact several existing tobacco and vaping control measures. The main known changes to current restrictions are considered below.

What will be the new age restrictions on the sale of tobacco products, herbal smoking products and cigarette papers?

The new law will prevent tobacco products (whether smoked, sniffed, sucked, chewed or consumed in any other way) to be sold to anyone born on of after 1 January 2009. Also caught will be cigarette papers and herbal smoking products such as ‘shisha’ even if they do not contain nicotine or tobacco.

This law is currently intended to come into effect on 1 January 2027 and so would mean that anyone who has not turned 18 by that time cannot be sold such products in their lifetime.

As the years go by, retailers will therefore not just be able to rely on a Challenge 25 age verification system to avoid committing this offence as the age for being able to buy these products increases annually, until at some point in the distant future these products will be prevented from being sold to anyone at all. Acceptable ID documents to prove age will be restricted to passports, UK or EU photocard driving licences and PASS cards.

It will become a legal requirement for tobacco retailers to display an age of sale notice in a prominent position and regulations about the notice’s size and appearance will follow from the Government in due course.

What products will be caught by this new law?

There are a number of products that will likely be captured by this new law, including (but not limited to): cigarettes; hand rolling tobacco; cigarette papers; cigars; cigarillos; pipe tobacco; waterpipe tobacco (e.g. shisha); herbal smoking products; nasal tobacco, (snuff); chewing tobacco; heated tobacco; blunts tobacco; herbal shisha.

Retailers will therefore need to ensure that due diligence systems are in place to prevent the sale of these products to those under the minimum age requirement, including robust staff training.

What about the sale of vapes and other nicotine products?

Vapes are not caught be the proposed new provisions for tobacco products so the Bill will mirror the current law in that vapes cannot be sold to under 18s (rather than those born on or after 1 January 2009). There are no current age of sale restrictions on other nicotine products so when new law takes effect then such nicotine products will also not be able to be sold to under 18s. This change will come info force 6 months after the Bill is passed - a date of that is still unknown.

Acceptable ID documents to prove age of buying vapes and other nicotine products will be restricted to passports, UK or EU photocard driving licences and PASS cards.

Changes to display of products rules

There are currently rules in place allowing the Government to restrict the display in the course of business of tobacco products and prices and retailers will be very familiar with these already. The current Bill will allow for an expansion these powers to include the display of vaping and nicotine products and prices. Clarification on this will depend on further regulations being introduced.

What about the new licensing scheme?

The Bill sets out brief details of a new licensing scheme for the sale of

tobacco products, herbal smoking products, cigarette papers, vaping and nicotine products. There are many further details awaited from the Government and this webpage will be updated as and when these are released.

What do we know so far – premises licences and personal licences?

The new law proposes that the sale of tobacco products, herbal smoking products, cigarette papers, vaping or nicotine products can only be done under the authority of and in accordance with a personal licence and premises licence.

Further details area awaited but this seems to create a minimum requirement that every premises selling these products will need a premises licence.

It is unclear at this stage whether each premises will just need one personal licence holder as a minimum or if each staff member selling these products will need a personal licence.

The Government will be launching a consultation to look into these matters further and we will keep the information on this webpage updated.

What products will be caught by this new licensing scheme?

From early information, it seems likely that licences would be required for the retail sale of the following products (although the list is not exhaustive): Cigarettes; hand rolling tobacco; cigarette papers; cigars; cigarillos; pipe tobacco; waterpipe tobacco (e.g. shisha); herbal smoking products; nasal tobacco (snuff); chewing tobacco; heated tobacco; blunts tobacco and herbal; herbal Shisha; flavoured or unflavoured nicotine vapes - liquid bottles, disposable (single use), pods/cartridges; flavoured or unflavoured non-nicotine vapes - liquid bottles, disposable (single use), pods/cartridges; supplement infused vapes;  nicotine shot liquids to be placed in shortfills/longfills; vape devices: tank based, single use, cartridge/pod systems including e-hookah; e-cigars; e-pipes; heated nicotine sticks (Neafs); herbal/CBD/Vitamin vapes-liquid or single use, pod/cartridge (classed as non-nicotine vapes); nicotine pouches;  and future emerging nicotine products that are not a tobacco product, herbal smoking product, cigarette papers, any device which is intended to be used for the consumption of tobacco products or herbal smoking products, or vaping products.

How do I apply for a tobacco etc. premises licence or personal licence? Is there any mandatory training required?

The applications will be made to the licensing authority i.e. your local authority. However, exact details as to the content of any application and required supporting documents are unknown at this point.

It is quite possible that mandatory training will be required before someone can apply for a personal licence (as per the alcohol licensing system) but such details are again unknown at this time. If such mandatory training is required in due course then this is something we would likely look to provide to operators.

When will the new licensing scheme commence?

The scheme will come into force when regulations for it are laid before Parliament so this will not necessarily be on 1 January 2027 as with the new age restrictions for tobacco products. Further details as to the exact date are awaited but the Government should provide a lead in time for retailers to obtain the necessary licences – we would expect a lead in of somewhere between 6 and 12 months.

If I can currently sell tobacco products, herbal smoking products, cigarette papers, vaping and nicotine products, is there a guarantee that I will be able to obtain the required licences under the new system?

It would appear that there is no such guarantee at this stage (often termed as ‘grandfather rights’). In England, the new law will allow for regulations that permit licensing authorities to refuse licences in a particular area (for example, near a school), or limiting the number of licences within a particular area (for example, imposing a maximum amount of tobacco retailers within its whole local authority area or perhaps certain specific areas).

We will provide updates once the picture becomes clearer but there may be some merit applying as early as possible once the new licensing system’s application process opens.

Will there be a fee to apply for a licence?

Yes – this seems likely as the new law will allow for regulations to permit licensing authorities to charge an application fee. The scale of any such fees remains unknown at this stage.

Will the licences have conditions on them that must be complied with?

This seems likely as new law will allow for regulations to impose licence conditions on licence holders. What such conditions might be remains to be seen but at the least will likely require that retailers adhere to specific tobacco and vape regulations (such as age of sale regulations) or displaying a licence within a retail premises.

How long will the licences last?

The new law will allow for regulations to determine the duration of licences and also mentions renewal fees so it seems highly likely that the licences will need to be renewed at specific intervals and another fee to be paid to the licensing authority at that time.

What if I don’t obtain the new licences by the time the new law comes into force?

The new law lays out a series of offences that are committed if the correct licences are not in place. Selling tobacco products, herbal smoking products, cigarette papers, vaping and nicotine products without the correct licences once the law commences could result in a criminal prosecution – which would then also be problematic for someone wanting to then apply for the required licences.

How do I keep up to date with information about this new licensing scheme?

We will keep this webpage up to date as more information comes to light. However, the best way to remain up to date is to sign up to our monthly licensing newsletter which will provide relevant updates as and when they are known.

If you are unsure of any element of Tobacco or Vapes licensing and how it could affect your premises, please get in touch with our team of licensing specialists today. You contact us through our contact form, or reach out directly on 0114 266 8664 or info@john-gaunt.co.uk.