Have your say on the Tobacco & Vapes Bill

The Government is collecting evidence to shape rules on flavours, ingredients, emissions and nicotine limits for vapes and other nicotine products (including pouches). This is the key moment to share your view. consultations.dhsc.gov.uk

Respond here: Tobacco and vapes: evidence to support legislation. consultations.dhsc.gov.uk

Why your response matters

• UK law already caps e-liquid at 20 mg/ml nicotine under TRPR. GOV.UK+1
• Nicotine pouches currently have no set nicotine limit in the UK; strengths on sale can be very high. (The consultation notes reports up to 150 mg in some products.) GOV.UK
• Regulators and scientists are actively reviewing pouches:
  • BSI PAS 8877:2022 is a published specification covering composition, manufacture and testing of tobacco-free oral nicotine pouches. (It does not set a statutory limit.) BSI Knowledge+1
  • The Committee on Toxicity (COT) has discussed nicotine pouches’ bioavailability and potential risks in a draft statement (drafts don’t represent the Committee’s final view). Committee on Toxicity
• Internationally, regulators are beginning to set guard-rails: in January 2025 the US FDA authorised marketing of 20 ZYN nicotine pouch products after scientific review. (This is not an endorsement for the UK, but shows regulated pouches can pass a health-risk assessment.) U.S. Food and Drug Administration+2Reuters+2

Responding to the consultation

When you reach the final free-text box headed “If you have any other evidence on flavours, ingredients or emissions for vaping products and nicotine products, please include it here. (Optional)”, consider making the case for a 20 mg nicotine cap per pouch. This mirrors the existing 20 mg/ml cap for e-liquids and would prevent extreme-strength outliers while keeping effective products for adults. GOV.UK+1

We support a 20 mg nicotine limit per pouch in the UK because E-liquids are already capped at 20 mg/ml, which consumers and retailers understand. A clear pouch limit would prevent very high-strength outliers now seen on the market, while maintaining effective options for adult smokers and users. The Government’s consultation highlights that pouches currently have no set nicotine limit and can reach very high strengths. It’s important therefore that the UK adopts a clear, enforceable limit alongside ingredient standards, appropriate warnings, child-resistant packaging and strong retailer enforcement. GOV.UK+1

How to respond

1. Open the DHSC consultation page. consultations.dhsc.gov.uk
2. Answer the questions you can, you don’t have to answer all of them.
   
3. Submit.

4. Once that’s complete, you can also write to your MP here