Rachel Reeves, the UK chancellor, is contemplating raising the tax on vaping products as part of her upcoming budget in response to growing concerns over the increasing number of children using e-cigarettes.

Recent figures show that a quarter of 11 to 15-year-olds in England have tried vaping, raising alarms among health officials.

The consideration follows a consultation launched by the previous Conservative government and comes after Jeremy Hunt, the current health secretary, introduced a tax on vaping products in his March budget. That tax is set to be implemented in October 2026 to make vaping products less affordable and accessible to children.

Alarming Youth Vaping Statistics

NHS England revealed on Thursday that 25% of children aged 11-15 in England had tried vaping in 2023, a rise from 22% just two years earlier.

Moreover, nearly one in 10 (9%) now use e-cigarettes regularly, compared to 11% of children who said they had tried cigarettes. Matt Fagg, NHS England’s director for prevention and long-term conditions, expressed concern over these figures.

He stated that the data is “incredibly concerning. It means they are at risk of becoming hooked on one of the world’s most addictive substances, and that is before we consider the longer-term impacts which are still unclear.”

Andrew Gwynne, a health minister, echoed this sentiment, highlighting the risks posed by unscrupulous retailers. “The health advice is clear that children and adult non-smokers should never vape, so it is unacceptable to see unscrupulous retailers marketing them at children,” he said.

Vaping Tax Revenue and Public Health Concerns

Experts estimate that raising the tax on vaping products could generate hundreds of millions for the UK government. Hunt’s proposed vape tax is expected to bring in £120m in 2026-27, increasing to £445m by 2028-29, according to data from the charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH). While this would provide significant revenue for public health initiatives, officials still debate how best to design the tax.

One option under consideration is a flat tax levy on vaping products rather than a system based on the product’s nicotine strength.

Critics argue that taxing high-strength nicotine products more heavily could discourage smokers from switching to vaping, potentially leaving them reliant on more harmful traditional tobacco products.

Public health experts are urging the government to implement any vaping tax alongside an increase in tobacco taxes to maintain a financial incentive for smokers to switch to vaping, which is generally considered less harmful.

A public health source stated, “The one ask from the public health sector is that if the duty on vaping is increased, then the same happens for tobacco, maintaining the differential and thus the incentive to move from tobacco.”

Balancing Health and Revenue

Chris Thomas, a research fellow at the Institute for Public Policy Research, supports the idea of increasing health taxes on harmful products such as tobacco, vapes, and junk food. He said, “It is right that the government considers new taxes designed to disincentivize or penalize industries and products that harm health while creating revenue to invest in health creation.” He noted that health levies could raise as much as £10bn by the end of the decade.

However, Thomas warned that the e-cigarette market has ways of bypassing regulations, particularly when it comes to the sale of disposable vapes. He suggested the government might need to consider a higher level of vape duty than originally proposed to ensure e-cigarettes remain less accessible to children but still available to adults seeking a smoking cessation tool.

Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive of ASH, welcomed the potential introduction of a flat-rate tax on e-cigarettes. “We opposed higher rates of tax on stronger nicotine liquids for the very reason that they are a smoking cessation tool, and higher prices may put off smokers who need high-strength products to quit. A flat rate would be welcome,” she said.

As more than 40 countries have already introduced taxes on vaping products, the UK looks poised to follow suit, but it remains to be seen how the government will balance its goals of protecting public health and raising revenue.