
More than half of Welsh adults who have heard of vapes wrongly believe vaping is as harmful as smoking or worse, new ASH Wales YouGov findings show.
More than half of Welsh adults who have heard of vapes wrongly believe vaping is as harmful as smoking or worse, new ASH Wales YouGov findings show.
A new UK excise duty on vaping products starts today, 1 October 2026. Here is what the £2.20 per 10ml duty, new vape duty stamps and higher tobacco duty mean in Wales.
SAFETY / COMPLIANCE ALERT
UK Trading Standards testing found nicotine in some vapes sold as nicotine-free. A 0% or nicotine-free label should not be treated as proof of contents.
PRODUCT WATCH
Official explanatory notes identify gels, creams, cheek absorption and nasal inhalers as plausible future consumer nicotine delivery routes. This is a foresight signal, not evidence that these products are established in Wales.
PRODUCT WATCH
Nicotine-free caffeine pouches are being sold in the UK in the same under-the-lip format as nicotine pouches, including products containing high doses of caffeine.
SAFETY ALERT
Cannabinoid vapes may be labelled with names such as HHC, HHC-P, THC-P or THC-O, but UK testing shows that labels and claimed contents cannot be relied on.
Smoking costs money every day. Moving away from cigarettes can improve your health and free up money for the things that matter to you.
For people who smoke, quitting completely is the best option. If you are not ready to quit in one step, licensed nicotine replacement products or switching completely from smoking to a nicotine vape can help some adults move away from cigarettes.
Most of the harm from smoking comes from burning tobacco and breathing in the toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke. The priority is to stop smoking cigarettes completely.
Nicotine is addictive, but it is not what causes most smoking-related disease. That is why nicotine replacement therapy and, for adults who smoke, switching completely to vaping can be used as routes away from cigarettes.
Stopping cigarettes completely gives the biggest health benefit and removes the ongoing cost of buying tobacco.
Nicotine replacement products and other stop-smoking treatments can help manage cravings. A Help Me Quit adviser, pharmacist or healthcare professional can help you choose an option that suits you.
For adults who smoke, vaping is less harmful than continuing to smoke, but it is not risk-free. The benefit comes from switching completely rather than smoking and vaping together.
The amount depends on how much you smoke and what you pay. Our cost calculator lets you use your own numbers instead of relying on a generic annual saving figure.
Help Me Quit is the national NHS stop smoking service for Wales. Support is free, there is no GP referral needed and advisers can help you plan a quit attempt and manage cravings.
Vaping is for adults who smoke as a route away from cigarettes. It is not harmless, and children, young people and people who do not smoke should not start vaping. If you have stopped smoking with a vape, the priority is to avoid going back to cigarettes; you can think about stopping vaping when you feel ready.