Budget 2026
The corner shop keeps its rates relief. The vape shop next door doesn't.
Relief should follow the licence, not the sign.
What's happened: on 28 October the Chancellor raised the threshold for small business rates relief to £18,000 for every small shop, and excluded vape shops. Two shops the same size on the same street now pay completely different bills, and nobody has said what counts as a vape shop. Add a fridge of energy drinks, call yourself a convenience store, keep your relief.
| Rateable value | Mini-mart | Vape shop |
|---|---|---|
| £6,000 | £0 | ~£2,300 a year |
| £9,000 | £0 | ~£3,400 a year |
| £12,000 | £0 | ~£4,600 a year |
| £15,000 | £0 (new) | ~£5,700 a year |
Rough guide at the 38.2p small retail rate. The same Budget found £10m of duty relief for small brewers, and pubs get a rates cut that vape shop reliefs help pay for. Business rates are devolved: this applies in England.
And the packaging decision is still coming: 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.
Budget, 28 October
The Budget just cut vape shops out of rates relief
Small business rates relief now covers every small shop up to £18,000 except one kind. A mini-mart selling disposables pays nothing; a specialist vape shop the same size could pay around £4,600 a year. Nobody has said what counts as a vape shop yet, so this is the moment to make sure the line follows a licence and a clean record, not the sign above the door.
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
Small business rates relief rises to £18,000 for every small shop, and vape shops are excluded. Brewers get £10m of duty relief.
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
Budget detail: who counts as a vape shop
The full Budget documents should confirm which reliefs go, when it starts and how a vape shop is defined. April 2027 is likely.
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.