How Old Do You Have To Be to Vape

If you’re wondering How old do you have to be to vape in the UK, the short answer is 18. In the United Kingdom, vaping (using an e-cigarette) is legally restricted to adults. This means you must be at least 18 years old to buy vapes or e-liquids. 

Vaping has become popular as a safer alternative for smokers, but it’s strictly for 18+ – just like traditional smoking. Every sentence below will give you important facts about UK vape laws, so you have the most accurate and up-to-date information.

The legal age to vape in the UK is 18. By law, retailers cannot sell e-cigarettes or any vape products (like devices or nicotine e-liquids) to anyone under 18. This rule applies across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland; all parts of the UK have the same age limit. In fact, UK government guidance on how old you have to be to buy vapes clearly states that vapes “can be legally sold to anyone over the age of 18”. If you are 17 or younger, you are not allowed to buy vapes in any shop or online store in the UK.

This age restriction for vaping mirrors the laws for smoking. The legal smoking age in England (and the rest of the UK) is also 18. It was raised from 16 to 18 in 2007 for cigarettes and tobacco. So, What is the legal age to vape? It’s essentially the same as the legal age to buy cigarettes, 18 years old. The government treats vaping age limits similarly to smoking to protect young people from nicotine addiction and related harms.

You might wonder why 18? The age limit is set at 18 because nicotine (the substance in most vapes) is addictive and can affect developing brains. Health experts and authorities agree that young people should not vape or smoke due to these risks.

The NHS warns that while vaping is far less harmful than smoking for adult smokers, it is “not completely risk-free” and the long-term risks of vaping are not yet clear. Teenagers’ lungs and brains are still developing, making them more sensitive to nicotine’s effects. In short, the law aims to protect under-18s from nicotine addiction, health risks, and the uncertainty around vaping’s long-term impact.

Just like alcohol or driving, the UK has decided that 18 is the appropriate age for someone to make an informed decision about vaping or smoking. By that age, individuals are considered mature enough to understand the risks.

Vape products are intended as adult quit-smoking tools, not for kids or teens. This is why the Legal age to buy vapes in the UK is firmly set at 18, and why there’s no exception even if a vape juice has zero nicotine, shops generally won’t sell any vaping product to minors.

UK vape laws don’t just stop at “18 and over only”; they also include strict rules to prevent underage access. It is illegal for any business to sell vaping products (e-cig devices, refill pods, e-liquids, etc.) to anyone under 18.

Retailers can face serious penalties if they break this law. The maximum fine for selling vapes to minors is £2,500 under current regulations, reported by Lancashire County Council. In other words, shops can be prosecuted and heavily fined for selling an e-cigarette or vape juice to a person who is under the legal age.

It’s not only shops that are accountable. Adults are also breaking the law if they buy vapes on behalf of someone under 18. This practice is called “proxy purchasing.” For example, if an older friend or a parent purchases a vape and then gives it to a 16-year-old, that adult is committing an offence. The law closes this loophole to stop under-18s from getting around the age restriction. In the UK, both the seller and any adult supplier can face legal consequences for enabling underage vaping.

Enforcement is taken seriously. Retailers are required to verify a customer’s age; you’ve probably seen the “Challenge 25” policy in convenience stores. This means staff will ask for photo ID if a buyer appears to be under 25, to ensure they are at least 18.

Many online reliable vape shops like Greet Vape also utilise age verification services to confirm that customers are of legal age, and also put information on their website on how old you have to be to buy vapes to educate their vaper customers. Trading Standards officers conduct spot checks and can send in test purchasers (mystery shoppers who are underage) to catch shops that sell to minors. If caught, a shop can be fined or even lose its license to sell these products. The rules are clear: no ID, no sale.

• Legal age to buy vapes: 18 years old (applies UK-wide).
• Illegal to sell to under-18s: Shops face fines up to £2,500 for selling e-cigarettes to minors.
• No proxy sales: It’s against the law for adults to purchase vapes for anyone under.
• ID checks: Retailers use schemes like Challenge 25 to verify age and prevent underage sales.
• Same as smoking: The legal age to smoke (buy tobacco) in the UK is also 18, so vaping has the same age limit.

A common question is, what if someone under 18 somehow gets a vape? Or what is the Legal smoking age in England? Is it illegal for them to use it? In practical terms, if you are under 18, you shouldn’t be vaping at all. UK law focuses on the sale and supply, rather than punishing the underage person who vapes.

There is no criminal offence for a child who tries vaping, unlike, say, driving without a license. So, if a 16-year-old is caught vaping, they won’t be arrested or fined for simply using a vape. However, the vape device may be confiscated (for example, by school staff or police), and the source who gave or sold it to them may face consequences.

Even though a minor possessing a vape isn’t a crime by itself, it’s strongly discouraged and taken seriously by authorities. Schools have strict policies; being caught vaping at school can lead to suspension or other discipline.

Police and community officers can confiscate tobacco or vapes from youths under 16 in public places as a deterrent. The bottom line is that vaping is intended only for adults. If you’re under 18, you cannot buy vapes legally, and every responsible retailer will refuse to sell to you. Any vaping products you have as a minor were obtained against the law (through an adult or rogue seller). At what age can you vape? Only at 18 or above, and it’s best to wait until then, both for legal reasons and your health.

Despite these laws, underage vaping has become a concern in the UK in recent years. Many teenagers have been experimenting with disposable vapes and sweet-flavoured e-liquids. Latest statistics show that about 18–20% of 11–17 year-olds in Great Britain have tried vaping at least once, as reported by ASH..

That’s roughly 1 in 5 children in that age range, equivalent to around a million youth who have ever tried an e-cigarette. More worrying, approximately 7% of 11–17 year-olds are currently vaping (as of 2023–24), which is an estimated 400,000 young people, and many of them vape daily. These numbers have risen rapidly compared to just a few years ago, although there are signs the trend may be stabilising now.

Why are kids getting into vaping? Surveys suggest a lot of underage users “just want to try it”, enjoy the flavours, or do it because friends are doing it. Unfortunately, many teens underestimate the risks; over half of young people mistakenly think vaping is as harmful as smoking. Yet that belief isn’t stopping them from experimenting. The government and health experts find this troubling.

Because most under-18 vapers have never been smokers, they are starting nicotine use from scratch, which could lead to long-term addiction. To tackle this, the UK has been looking at stronger measures (like banning brightly colored packaging, restricting flavours that appeal to kids, and closing loopholes on free samples) to curb youth vaping.

On a positive note, adult vaping in the UK has helped many smokers quit. There are about 5.5 million adult vapers in Great Britain, roughly 10% of all adults now vape. This has grown from just a few per cent a decade ago. Meanwhile, around 13% of adults still smoke cigarettes (smoking rates have been falling slowly). More than half of adult vapers are ex-smokers who have completely replaced smoking with vaping.

Public Health England (now the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities) has consistently reported that vaping is far less harmful than smoking and is an effective aid to quitting smoking. Many people also ask, What is the legal age to smoke in the UK? The answer is simple: you must be 18 or older to buy cigarettes or vapes legally. This rule is part of the UK’s plan to protect young people and reach its goal of a smoke-free generation by 2030.

However, none of this means vaping is safe for youth; the harm reduction is meant for adult smokers. For young people who never smoked, picking up vaping only introduces new risks. That’s why the legal age to vape is 18 and likely to stay that way or even become stricter.

Aside from the age limit, you might be curious about other vaping laws in the UK. Unlike cigarettes, vaping is not covered by the nationwide indoor smoking ban. Smoking cigarettes has been banned in pubs, restaurants, and most indoor workplaces since 2007.

Vaping, on the other hand, is generally permitted in public places unless a particular venue or local rule prohibits it. For example, some train companies, airlines, shops, and offices have their own policies banning the use of e-cigarettes on their premises. Still, there isn’t an overarching law that says “no vaping” in all public indoor spaces. So while you must be 18 to use a vape, once you are an adult, using a vape in many public places is legal (just be sure to respect any “No Vaping” signs where they appear).

There are also regulations on vape products themselves: the UK has rules on maximum nicotine strength (20 mg/ml for nicotine e-liquids), bottle sizes (10 ml for nicotine liquids), tank sizes (2 ml), and ingredient standards – all aimed at safety. These regulations are derived from the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations. But for the purpose of this article, the key takeaway is that age is the primary legal restriction on who can vape.

Right now, the Legal age to buy vapes in the UK is 18, with no exceptions. Looking ahead, there’s discussion about whether even tighter laws are needed to prevent youth nicotine addiction. In late 2023 and 2024, the government floated proposals to raise the legal age for buying cigarettes year by year (similar to New Zealand’s plan), effectively banning cigarettes for the next generation.

Alongside that, there are calls to crack down on child-friendly vape marketing, for instance, banning bright colored packaging, names, or flavours like “bubble gum” and “candy floss” that clearly appeal to kids. The idea is to make vapes accessible as quit aids for adult smokers, but unappealing to teenagers who aren’t smokers.

As of now, these are proposals and have not yet become law (the relevant bill was introduced but hadn’t passed as of 2024). If and when new laws are introduced, they could include measures such as on-the-spot fines for shops that sell to minors and stricter enforcement powers for trading standards. For the time being, 18 remains the legal vape age, and all the existing protections for youth (ID checks, fines, etc.) are in force.

To recap on how old you have to be to vape, you must be 18 or older to vape in the UK; this is the legal age for buying e-cigarettes, vape kits, or e-liquids. The legal age to smoke in the UK is also 18, so vaping follows the same standard. It’s illegal for any retailer to sell vaping products to under-18s, and it’s illegal for adults to buy vapes for minors.

These laws are in place to protect young people from nicotine addiction and health risks. While vaping can be a helpful tool for adult smokers to quit smoking (and is much less harmful than smoking), it is absolutely not for children or teenagers. If you’re a beginner vaper and over 18, ensure you always purchase from reputable UK vendors that follow age verification rules. If you’re a parent or teen, know that the legal age to buy vapes in the UK is set in stone to keep kids safe.