The consultation has closed
They've closed the consultation. They haven't made the decision.
Don't dress the cure like the disease.
What's happened: on 2 October the Government's consultation on vape packaging closed. It proposed plain white packs, grey devices, one-word flavour names and tobacco-style hidden displays in every shop in the UK. Officials are now writing the response. And this is only round one: today it's the packs and the names. Flavours will be next.
Why it matters: we back protecting kids, and the measures that genuinely do that have our full support. But dress vaping like smoking and even more smokers will believe there's no point switching, even though public health evidence puts vaping at around 95% less harmful, and the Government's own data shows 2.7 million ex-smokers used a vape in their last quit attempt. The law that actually protects children, the ban on selling vapes to under-18s, already exists. The question is who is checking it.
Monday 12 October
Parliament is back
The Commons returns from conference recess. Written questions can be tabled again from this day. Nobody has yet asked how many underage test purchases are carried out, or by how many officers. That is the question the FOI data answers.
Write to your MP11 yrs
How long a shop could go between underage-sale checks, across 12 councils
0
Legal minimum number of age-of-sale checks a council must carry out
54%
Of adults think vaping is as harmful or more harmful than smoking
2.7m
Ex-smokers used a vape in their last quit attempt
Three ways to keep fighting. Do all three.
1
Write to your MP
Two minutes. MPs answer to constituents, and the decision is still being made.
Start now →
2
Join the Relapse Register
One tick while you write. On the record: these rules risk sending quitters back to cigarettes.
See the register →
3
Share the evidence
We asked the councils. Britain checks a sandwich shop more often than a shop that could sell a vape to a child.
See what we found →
Most people think vaping is as bad as smoking. It is not.
Share who believe vaping is as harmful or more harmful than smoking.
View as a table
| Group | Share (% of group) |
|---|---|
| All adults | 54% |
| Adults who smoke | 52% |
| Smokers who have never vaped | 61% |
Source: ASH, Use of vapes among adults in Great Britain, 2026 (Smokefree GB survey, 13,259 adults). The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities says vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking in the short and medium term. Vaping is not risk-free.
What the experts say
Every quote is word for word from the source linked. These bodies speak for themselves; they have not endorsed Riot or this campaign. Vaping is not risk-free, and is for adults who smoke.
What happens next
10 July 2026
Consultation opens
DHSC proposes plain white packs, grey devices, one-word flavour names and tobacco-style hidden displays.
30 September 2026
Riot files its response
Enforcement first, a licensed specialist display exemption, and no plain packs.
2 October 2026
Consultation closes
11:59pm. The responses are now with DHSC officials.
12 October 2026
Parliament returns
First day written questions can be tabled again. The test-purchase question has not been asked.
28 October 2026
Autumn Budget
Will vape duty fund the enforcement that already exists in law?
29 October 2026
New age-of-sale law starts
Age of sale 18 UK-wide, free distribution and deep discounts banned, £200 fixed penalties.
To be confirmed
Government response and draft regulations
At least 12 months' notice for packaging and six for display, staged through this Parliament.
Around January 2027
Vape shops and planning permission
The High Street announcement of 11 August: vape shops brought into planning control, longer closure orders.
1 June 2027
Ban on consumer advertising and sponsorship
The Tobacco and Vapes Act bans consumer advertising of vapes. This site remains a political campaign, not advertising.