Vape and nicotine sales to under-18s banned as Birmingham hospitals expand quit help

Selling any vape or nicotine product to under-18s is illegal across the UK from today, as new rules come into force to protect children from nicotine addiction. In Birmingham, hospital patients who want to quit smoking now have more help on hand too.

What changes today

Selling vapes that contain nicotine to under-18s was already illegal. From today (29 October), products not previously covered by age-of-sale rules, including nicotine-free vapes and nicotine pouches, strips and pearls, can no longer be sold to children.

For the first time, adults will also commit an offence if they buy, or try to buy, a vaping or nicotine product for someone under 18. Free giveaways, big promotional discounts and vending machine sales of vapes and nicotine products are banned too.

Trading Standards will lead enforcement in England, with new powers to issue £200 fixed penalty notices to rogue retailers. The government says more than a million children are estimated to have tried vaping, with more than 370,000 vaping regularly.

Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said: "Addicting children to nicotine or encouraging them to vape could lead to the risk of serious health harms - it is completely unacceptable."

The public health advice remains that vaping is less harmful than smoking and can help adult smokers quit, but it is not risk-free, and children and adult non-smokers should never vape. Local authority stop smoking services can carry on providing products to help adults quit.

More to come

The changes are part of the Tobacco and Vapes Act, which became law six months ago. From 1 January 2027, it will be illegal to sell tobacco to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009, and an advertising and sponsorship ban is planned from 1 June 2027.

Help to quit in Birmingham's hospitals

In Birmingham, University Hospitals Birmingham has expanded its stop smoking service for outpatients at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Heartlands Hospital and Good Hope Hospital. Funded by Birmingham City Council's public health team, it is open to all Birmingham residents attending outpatient appointments, with a focus on respiratory, pre-operative and cancer services.

Patients get specialist support alongside free stop smoking treatments, including nicotine replacement therapy and vapes, face to face or by phone. An estimated 10.2 per cent of adults in Birmingham smoke.

Councillor Nosheen Khalid, cabinet member for health and social care, said: "For a lot of people, the hardest part of quitting isn't wanting to stop, it's knowing where to turn for help. This service puts that support right in front of them, in hospital, exactly when quitting can make a big difference to health outcomes."

Patients can be referred by their hospital team or refer themselves, and residents can find more help at birmingham.gov.uk/stopsmoking.