The government’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill safely passed its first vote by MPs in the Commons recently. If approved by MPs and peers, the proposed law would ban smoking and vaping in some outdoor settings and further restrict who could buy tobacco and nicotine products in the UK. But what would the UK smoking ban mean for stoners?
What is the Tobacco and Vapes Bill 2025-25?
The Labour government’s proposed smoking ban is similar to proposals put forward by the last Conservative government before it was scrapped in the run-up to the 2024 election. Under the proposed law, inside smoking restrictions would be expanded to some outdoor locations, including in playgrounds and outside schools and hospitals. Shops would also require a license to sell tobacco, nicotine, and vape products.
Further restrictions would also be applied to vape products, in addition to the ban on single-use disposable vapes expected to be introduced in June 2025. Vaping will be restricted in smoke-free areas and sponsorship and advertising for the products would be banned under the proposed legislation.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill would also introduce a generational ban on tobacco products, herbal smoking products, and cigarette papers to anyone born on or after the 1st of January 2009, with an aim to create the first “smoke-free generation”.
How would the law affect cannabis users?
The prevalence of cannabis use remains high in the UK despite decades of prohibition. The UK consistently reports one of the highest rates of cannabis use in Europe, but could the changes laid out in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill affect this?
Obviously, the sale, use, and possession of recreational cannabis products is already illegal in the UK. But that isn’t to say that cannabis users won’t be impacted by the proposed legislation. Under the “smoking ban”, black market cannabis will presumably remain as accessible as it currently is; however, stoners may also find themselves having to turn to non-legal sources for other products that are affected by the bill, including rolling papers and – for those who use it for skinning up – tobacco.
While the generational ban on tobacco, herbal smoking products, and rolling papers will have little impact on the vast majority of current users (or those currently aged over 15), those born in or after 2009 would never have legal access to these products. And the expanded restrictions wouldn’t only affect those who prefer to smoke the drug.
Vaping cannabis and cannabinoid products
Of course, a growing number of cannabis users are moving away from smoking as a method of administration. CBD and THC vapes are becoming increasingly common and dry herb vaporisers are also gaining popularity among both recreational and medical consumers.
The bill is set to extend the existing ban on the sale of nicotine vapes to people aged under 18 to non-nicotine vape products. This is likely to have little impact on the sale of CBD vapes or e-liquids, as most retailers already do not sell these products to customers under the age of 18. However, the expansion of “smoke-free” areas would make it more difficult to smoke or vape cannabis and cannabinoid products in public spaces.
What about medical cannabis patients?
Vaping is a common administration method for medical cannabis patients. Cannabis flower is the most common form of medical cannabis in the UK, making dry herb vaporisers a must-have product for many patients. So would the new restrictions hurt these consumers?
Under the current law, medical cannabis patients are permitted to administer their medication regardless of smoking or vaping restrictions in public venues or spaces. So far, there has been little clarification on what the proposed changes would mean for patients using dry herb vaporisers; however, it can be assumed that individuals with a prescription will continue to be exempt from the new restrictions, although its likely the stigma will still exist.
Mixed reactions to the proposed bill
Despite gaining significant support from MPs in its first pass through the House of Commons (415 voted in favour compared with 47 votes against), there have been mixed reactions to the bill outside of Parliament.
For example, while most commenters welcome the smoking control strategies laid out in the Bill, Prof Caitlin Notley, Professor of Addiction Sciences, Lifespan Health Research Centre, University of East Anglia, argues that smokefree legislation should not include vaping:
“Vaping is a harm reduction approach for adult smokers trying to quit smoking. Policies that deal with smoking and vaping in the same way send a very confusing message… bans can have unintended consequences, and the history of prohibition tells us that outright bans often do not work.”
Some critics are even accusing the government of impeding on personal liberty with the new proposals. Newspaper columnist, Simon Jenkins, criticised the Conservatives similar proposals (the Tobacco and Vaping Bill 2023-24), pointing out that it would simply drive people to illicit sources and argued that a “smoking ban would have the same defects as the cannabis ban.”
What would cannabis legalisation look like in a smoke-free world?
The more optimistic among us have been patiently waiting for lawmakers in the UK to follow the lead of their counterparts in Germany, Malta, and several other European countries and finally commit to legalising recreational cannabis. Alas, just as many other governments before it (and despite the now-Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s support for reform following a fruitful visit to Canada in 2019), the new Labour government continues to oppose both the decriminalisation and legalisation of the drug.
Moreover, many people would argue that the Tobacco and Vapes Bill would stop any potential future cannabis legalisation in its tracks. After all, smoking remains the most popular form of administration for “non-legal” recreational and medicinal consumers. However, as stoners appear to be taking a more health-conscious approach to cannabis, dry herb vaporisers and other vape products have become increasingly popular.
So, could cannabis legalisation survive in a smoke-free world? That depends on whether consumers and lawmakers of the future will be willing to accept smoke-free methods of consumption.
