Vape prices are changing. Here's what you need to know.
You've probably heard people talking about the new vape tax coming this October. And if we're being fair, 22p per ml doesn't sound particularly scary on its own.
The problem is that nobody buys 1ml of vape liquid.
From 1 October 2026, the UK's new Vaping Products Duty starts. Once VAT is added, we're looking at roughly 26.4p extra for every ml of e-liquid.
So we've done the maths and put it into actual products and prices. No tax jargon. Just what it means for the stuff you actually buy.
Short version? Here you go.
What does the new vape tax actually mean?
Most of us don't think about vape liquid in millilitres of tax. You think about the product you normally buy and how much it costs.
You know your usual bottle is £3.99. You know roughly what a pack of pods costs. You know which multibuy you normally go for.
That's why just saying "22p per ml" doesn't really explain what's about to happen.
Once VAT is included, every 10ml of liquid represents roughly £2.64 in additional duty and VAT.
And when you start multiplying that across the amount of liquid inside the products we actually sell, things look very different very quickly.
What does that look like on an actual vape product?
This is the easiest way to understand it. Same tax rule, four completely different products.
2ml Pod
Standard single prefilled pod12ml Refill
2ml pod + 10ml refill container10ml Bottle
Nic salt or standard 10ml liquid100ml Bottle
Large shortfill e-liquid bottleSo what happens to our 4 for £10 deals?
This is probably the easiest example of just how big the change is.
Our 10ml multibuys have been a massive part of I Love Vapour for years. They're simple, they're good value and customers know exactly what they're getting.
But four 10ml bottles means you're buying 40ml of e-liquid.
That's roughly £10.56 in new duty and VAT on the liquid inside a four-bottle deal.
Read that again.
There's more than £10 of additional duty and VAT being added to a deal that currently sells for around £10–£12.
So when our prices and offers start changing, it isn't because we've suddenly decided we fancy charging everyone more.
The maths behind the deal simply doesn't work anymore.
A 4 for £10 deal can have £10.56 of new tax attached to the liquid alone.
53p doesn't sound like much. Until you're buying them every week.
If you're using something with a standard 2ml prefilled pod, the increase looks much less dramatic.
Each 2ml of e-liquid represents approximately 52.8p in additional duty and VAT.
The problem is that pods are something you buy again and again.
If you use around 2ml a day, that's roughly 60ml over a 30-day month.
That's where the small increases start adding up.
At around 2ml per day, the new duty and VAT represents roughly £15.84 extra per month.
Stretch that across a year and you're looking at around £190.
Bigger refill systems get hit harder.
Big puff kits have become hugely popular because they're easy to use and give you much more liquid than an old-style 2ml disposable.
But that's exactly why the new tax makes such a difference.
Take a system with a 2ml pod and a 10ml refill container. That's 12ml of e-liquid in total.
Roughly £3.17 in additional duty and VAT every time you buy that amount of liquid.
So while the product itself hasn't suddenly become better or more expensive to manufacture overnight, the amount of liquid inside means there's now a significant tax attached to it.
This is where the numbers get a bit mad.
If you're a regular shortfill user, this is probably the bit you're going to notice most.
Shortfills have always been one of the best-value ways to buy e-liquid. You're buying more at once, so your cost per ml has traditionally been much lower.
The problem is that the new duty works in exactly the opposite way: the more liquid there is, the more tax gets added.
That's approximately £26.40 in duty and VAT before you've even accounted for the actual product.
So could a £14.99 bottle really end up around £41.39?
Yes, it could.
Final prices will depend on the brand, supplier and other costs, so we're not going to pretend every 100ml bottle will have exactly the same price.
But if you've got £26.40 of duty and VAT being attached to something that currently sells for £14.99, the tax-only example comes to £41.39 — so you can see the problem.
That's why shortfills are going to be one of the biggest changes customers notice.
Because this isn't your normal 50p price increase.
We're all used to prices going up.
Products cost more to make, shipping gets more expensive, suppliers change prices and things creep up over time.
This is different.
We're going from no vape-specific excise duty to a full volume-based tax in one go.
That's why the jump feels so much bigger than the sort of price increases customers are normally used to seeing.
Why the same product could have two different prices.
Not everything is going to magically change price at midnight on 1 October.
For a while, pre-duty stock and new duty-paid stock can be moving through the market at the same time.
Say Blue Raspberry 20mg flies out and we have to reorder it straight away, but Blue Raspberry 10mg is still sitting in stock from before the duty.
They could look like exactly the same product but temporarily have different prices.
We know that's going to look odd.
It's not us making up random prices. It's simply old stock and newly taxed stock moving through at different speeds.
Trying a random flavour might not feel so random anymore.
One thing we don't think gets talked about enough is what happens to trying new products.
Right now, throwing a different 10ml flavour into your multibuy isn't much of a gamble.
Don't love it? Fair enough. Pick something different next time.
Once every 10ml bottle has roughly £2.64 of duty and VAT attached, spending money on something you're not sure about suddenly matters a little more.
We think customers are naturally going to become more selective about flavours and brands.
And that's where having an actual vape shop with staff who know the products becomes more useful.
Tell us what you normally vape and what sort of flavours you like. We'll point you towards something that actually makes sense.
Got a favourite? Stock up before the price goes up.
If you've got an e-liquid, nic salt or pod that you buy every week anyway, it makes sense to think ahead while pre-duty stock is still available.
We're not telling you to buy a year's worth of vape juice and turn the spare bedroom into a warehouse.
But if you know you're going to use it, buying a few extra at today's prices could make a very noticeable difference — especially on larger-volume products.
We'll keep our customers updated as the new stock starts coming through and we'll keep pushing for the best deals we realistically can.
Shop Current Prices →Vape Tax 2026: the questions we're being asked.
When does the new UK vape tax start?
Vaping Products Duty starts on 1 October 2026.
How much is the vape tax?
The duty is 22p per ml of e-liquid. Once VAT is included, the impact works out at approximately 26.4p per ml.
How much extra tax is there on a 10ml bottle?
Approximately £2.64 in duty and VAT for every 10ml of e-liquid.
How much extra is there on a 2ml pod?
Approximately 52.8p in duty and VAT for 2ml.
What about a 12ml big puff refill?
A product containing 12ml of e-liquid represents approximately £3.17 in duty and VAT.
What happens to 100ml shortfills?
100ml represents approximately £26.40 in duty and VAT alone, which is why larger bottles will see such a noticeable change.
Does 20mg get taxed more than 10mg?
No. The duty is based on the volume of e-liquid rather than simply the nicotine strength.
Will all I Love Vapour prices change on 1 October?
Not necessarily. Pre-duty stock and newly duty-paid stock may be available at the same time, so products can change price at different points as stock is replenished.
Should I stock up before October?
If it's a product you already use regularly, buying a reasonable amount while pre-duty stock is available could reduce the immediate impact of the price increase. Only buy what you reasonably expect to use and store products correctly.
We're not going to pretend this is a small change.
It's going to change prices. It's going to change some of our deals. And it's probably going to change what represents good value in vaping.
What we don't want is customers walking into one of our shops in October, seeing a completely different price and wondering what on earth has happened.
That's why we're talking about it now.
As the changes start coming through, we'll be keeping an eye on what offers the best value, which products make the most sense and where switching to a different setup could save you money.
If you're not sure what any of this means for the vape you currently use, just ask us.
And we'll do our best to make the change as straightforward as possible.
— I Love Vapour