If you are under the age of 18 and are thinking about buying a vape, don’t. It is illegal for vape shops (both physical and online) to sell electronic cigarettes to anyone under 18. That clear-cut age limit (same as that for smoking) is there to protect the health and safety of youngsters. The nicotine in vapes is a highly addictive chemical. While adults are not immune to its effects, teenagers with their developing brains are far more vulnerable.
So, you’ll see a poster here about a ban on underage vaping, or you might hear a warning or two at school assembly. What actually happens if you get caught vaping under 18 in the UK? You won’t face criminal charges, but there can be consequences, ranging from a simple warning to being required to attend health education sessions.
Vaping laws in the UK don’t make it a criminal offence for a minor to possess or use a vape. The full force of the law targets the adults and businesses who provide them. This article goes into the details of what happens if an under-18 is found vaping, and the penalties for the vape shops supplying those vapes.
What Happens After A Teenager Is Caught Vaping
So, you’re under 18, taking furtive puffs in a corner, and an adult in authority, a teacher, a police community support officer, or a park warden, sees you vaping. What’s the immediate result?
In almost all cases, you can expect your vape device to be confiscated immediately. It’s gone. What comes next is a round of questioning. Since you can’t be prosecuted for possession of vapes or usage, they’ll want to know where you got it. They won’t be asking this out of curiosity; it’s just the first step in an enforcement chain. The information you provide, about the name or location of the shop, could trigger action by Trading Standards officers. They might make a test purchase at the said store. Other than that, your parents or guardians will certainly be informed of your newly acquired habit.
So, while a youngster won’t face any prosecution or fine for vaping below the age of eighteen, such social and parental repercussions are a far more powerful deterrent than any official fine could be.
Buying Vapes For A Teenager
Sometimes teenagers try to get around the age limit by asking someone older, maybe a friend, sibling, or even a stranger, to buy a vape on their behalf. This is known as proxy purchasing, and it’s taken seriously under UK law. If authorities find out that a vape was purchased this way, the adult who made the purchase can face fines or other penalties, too.
Penalties for Shops Selling Vapes to Minors
While an underage vape user might get off the hook easily with slight embarrassment and a telling-off, that, however, is not the case for those selling vapes to them. Such vape retailers can face potentially crippling penalties. In many places, Local Trading Standards teams recruit teenage volunteers in undercover operations to test whether shops are selling to minors.
Below are the different penalties a vape seller can face depending on the severity of their crime (selling to a person under 18):
Fines:
The business can be slapped with a hefty fine for selling vapes to minors. There are documented cases of shops in various English cities being fined hundreds, and in a few cases, even thousands of pounds, in addition to the various legal costs.
Criminal Prosecution:
While a business’s finances can take a hit, the individual employee who made the sale can be prosecuted personally. They can face separate fines and even community orders.
Reputational Damage:
No local business wants to be the leading story in the evening news for being fined for selling vapes to children. It is a public relations disaster.
Authorities are cracking down on all such shops and even intensifying such efforts to discourage businesses from offering their vapes to under-18s.
How the UK Is Responding to Underage Vaping
In addition to making it illegal to sell vapes or vaping products to underage users, UK regulators are tackling underage vaping by taking entire product categories (that were appealing to teenagers) off the shelves.
Youth Usage:
Multiple surveys have shown a concerning rise in vape experimentation among 11- to 17-year-olds. While vaping is significantly less harmful than smoking, it is only meant for adult smokers trying to quit, not teens puffing on sweet flavours.
Disposable Vape Ban:
Since 1 June 2025, single-use disposable vapes have been illegal to sell or supply in the UK. The ban was put in place as disposables were becoming highly popular with young people due to their low prices, bright colours, and sweet flavours. So, the ban effectively removed the most easily accessible and environmentally disastrous vaping product from the market.
Future Regulations:
The government’s new Tobacco and Vapes Bill, currently moving through Parliament, will place stricter controls on how vapes are displayed in shops and seeks to go further. It plans to introduce stricter controls on how vapes are displayed in shops and restrict flavour names that might appeal to kids, among other proposals.
What to Do if a Teen is Vaping
If you are a parent who is worried about your child using vapes, or are a friend who wants to advise a fellow teenager against e-cigarette use, a supportive and honest conversation can go a long way. The NHS advice is as good as any in this regard. They promote vaping as a tool for adult smokers to quit cigarettes, while emphasising that it’s not risk-free.
If you suspect a local shop is regularly selling to under-18s, you can report it anonymously. You can make reports to your local authority’s Trading Standards team via the Citizens Advice consumer helpline.
Buy and Use Vapes Responsibly
If you are an adult smoker and have made the choice to quit smoking with vaping, having the right kit in hand matters. And if you are looking for one, then Ma Vapour, the best online vape store in the UK, gives you access to properly sourced vape kits and e-liquids. You can buy the best vape kits for beginners or go for something more advanced if you are already familiar with vaping. This way, you will be better equipped to handle those cravings in the first few weeks after smoking cessation.
