What is the legal age to vape in the UK?

The legal age to vape in the UK is 18, in the sense that it is illegal to sell a vape or nicotine e-liquid to anyone under 18, and illegal for an adult to buy one on their behalf. The law targets the sale. It does not make it a criminal offence for someone under 18 to own or use a vape, although schools, employers and venues can set their own rules.

In UK law the vaping age and the age to buy vapes are the same thing: at 18 years old you can legally buy them.

The law that applies now

In England and Wales the rules moved into the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 on 29 October 2026. Section 10 makes it an offence to sell a vaping product or a nicotine product to a person under 18. Section 11 makes it an offence for anyone aged 18 or over to buy, or try to buy, one of those products for someone under 18.

Before that date, the same two rules sat in older law: section 92 of the Children and Families Act 2014 and the Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015. legislation.gov.uk now shows section 92 as omitted from 29 October 2026, replaced by the new Act. The age itself has not changed: it was 18 under the old law too. The separate Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016, which set the 20mg/ml and 10ml limits, are about the products themselves rather than who can buy them.

Nicotine-free vapes are covered too

The old regulations were about nicotine inhaling products, which left a gap: a vape with no nicotine in it could be sold to a teenager. The 2026 Act closes that. Section 50 defines a vaping product as a vape or a vaping substance, and a vaping substance as any substance, other than tobacco, meant to be vaporised by a vape. Nicotine is not part of the test, so 0mg e-liquids and nicotine-free devices fall under the same under-18 sales ban as a 20mg nic salt.

In practice that means the age restriction now covers the whole shelf: vape kits, pods, refill bottles and coils sold with liquid, whatever the nicotine strength.

Is it illegal to vape at 16 in the UK?

No law makes it a crime for a 16-year-old to hold or use a vape. Section 10 only creates an offence for the person who sells it, and section 11 only for an adult who buys it for them. So the question "is it legal to vape at 16 in the UK" has a narrow legal answer: the young person is not committing an offence, but anyone who sold or supplied the vape through a purchase may be.

That does not mean there are no consequences. Schools have behaviour policies, employers have workplace rules, and many venues ban vaping on their premises. A school can confiscate a vape under its own policy even though no criminal law has been broken.

What happens if someone under 18 is caught vaping?

Under the age of sale laws, nothing happens to the young person in criminal terms, because they have not committed an offence. In practice, being caught usually means the vape is taken away under a school or venue rule, and parents are told.

The legal attention falls on where the vape came from. If a shop sold it, the seller faces prosecution or a fixed penalty. If an adult bought it for them, that adult has committed the section 11 offence.

What the law means for sellers

For anyone selling vapes, it is illegal to sell a vaping product to anyone under 18, in a shop, at a market stall or online. The minimum age applies to every sale, including multi-buys and gifts bought at the till.

A seller charged under section 10 has a defence if they followed the age verification steps set in regulations, or otherwise took all reasonable steps to avoid selling to an under-18. On conviction the fine can reach level 4 on the standard scale in England and Wales.

In England, trading standards can also issue a fixed penalty notice instead of prosecuting. Section 37 sets the penalty at £200, reduced to £100 if paid within 14 days. The same section covers failing to display the age of sale notice at the point of sale.

Online sellers are covered too. Section 10 applies to any sale, so websites selling vapes or nic salts have to check age before the order ships, not just at the counter.

How age verification works

Section 10 lets the government set out verification steps in regulations, and a seller who follows them has a defence. Until those steps are spelled out, the test is whether the seller took all reasonable steps. For a shop that usually means asking for photo ID whenever a customer might be under 18. For an online store it means an age check at checkout and, where the courier supports it, an ID check on delivery.

If you think a shop is selling vapes to under-18s, you can report it to your local trading standards office through gov.uk. Trading standards is the body that enforces the age of sale rules and issues the fixed penalties.

What the law means for adults buying for someone else

Buying a vape for a younger sibling, a child or a friend's teenager is an offence under section 11, with a fine of up to level 4 on the standard scale. The only defence is that the adult had no reason to suspect the other person was under 18. Saying it was a gift, or that the teenager paid for it, does not change the offence.

A note for parents

If your child has a vape, the law is not going to treat them as an offender, but it does give you somewhere to go about the supply. Find out where it came from. If a shop or website sold it, trading standards can act. If an older friend or relative bought it, that adult has committed an offence. Talking to the school is also worth doing, since most have a policy on vapes and know which local shops are a problem.

Vaping age and smoking age are now separate questions

The same Act also changes the rules for tobacco. Section 37 refers to the new offence of selling tobacco to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009, which brings in a smoking age that rises each year. That rule is about tobacco products only. For vapes, the minimum age stays at 18.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland has had its own age of sale rule for nicotine vapour products since 2017, in section 4A of the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2010. The age is 18. legislation.gov.uk lists changes to that section from the 2026 Act that have not yet been written into the text, so check the current version before relying on the detail.

In Northern Ireland, section 80 of the 2026 Act sets the same under-18 sales offence, with a maximum fine of level 5. The age is 18 across the whole UK.

Where this sits in the wider rules

Age of sale is one rule among several. The 20mg/ml strength cap, the 10ml bottle limit, the disposables ban and the coming changes to advertising are all covered in our UK vape rules guide. For adults new to vaping, the beginner's guide, what nic salts are and the nic salt strength guide explain the products themselves.

Laws checked on legislation.gov.uk on 2 November 2026. Some sections of the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 come into force in stages, so always check the current text.