A major crackdown on illegal tobacco and vaping products is ramping up, with new officers on the streets and fresh funding to protect children and communities from harmful products.
As the government’s landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill moves closer to becoming law, a £10 million boost has been announced for Trading Standards. This funding will support local enforcement efforts over the next year, helping to recruit and train around 80 apprentice enforcement officers. These officers will work to stop the flow of illegal tobacco and vapes into shops and prevent underage sales.
Trading Standards teams, often working in partnership with local police, play a central role in dismantling organised crime groups involved in the illicit vape trade. Their efforts include targeted raids and the use of sniffer dogs to detect hidden illegal products.
Today’s announcement strengthens existing efforts to combat the illegal tobacco market, including HMRC and Border Force’s £100 million Illicit Tobacco Strategy. That initiative targets smuggling and distribution networks, while a new vaping duty set to launch in 2026 will bring added enforcement powers, including civil and criminal penalties, and the hiring of over 200 compliance officers.
This latest investment supports the broader goals of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which aims to create the world’s first smoke-free generation. The Bill would ban the sale of tobacco to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, and introduce tougher regulations to keep addictive products away from children.
Additional measures in the Bill include new £200 on-the-spot fines in England and Wales for violating age restrictions, and plans for a licensing system for retailers selling tobacco, vape, and nicotine products across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
These steps form part of the government’s wider Plan for Change, which focuses on prevention as a key strategy for easing NHS pressures and making streets safer by targeting organised crime. Photo by H.M. Revenue & Customs, Wikimedia commons.