Vaping Is Not Just Nicotine in a Bottle

For many adults, vaping is not just nicotine in a bottle. It is routine, ritual, control, flavour, hand movement, sensory comfort, focus, habit replacement and, for some, a hobby.

To tax every millilitre of liquid in the same way risks missing the reason many people vape in the first place.

And to understand that properly, we have to be honest about something else too.

Smoking Was Never Only About Nicotine

When people talk about smoking, they often reduce it to addiction.

Nicotine. Dependence. Cravings. Withdrawal.

All of that matters, of course. Nicotine is addictive, and that is a major part of why people smoke. But anyone who has smoked, or worked closely with smokers, knows there is more to it than that.

For many people, smoking was also:

A cigarette was not just a product. It was a ritual.

That does not make smoking safe. It does not make smoking good. But it does help explain why simply telling someone to stop is rarely enough.

For some people, smoking becomes stitched into the structure of their day. It marks time. It creates a pause. It gives the brain something familiar to hold onto.

That is one of the reasons vaping worked for so many adults.

It did not only replace nicotine.

It replaced the ritual, without the smoke.

Vaping Gave People a Different Kind of Control

A lot of adult vapers did not move from smoking to vaping because vaping was trendy.

They moved because it gave them a way out.

Instead of lighting a cigarette, they could pick up a vape. Instead of burning tobacco, they could use a refillable kit. Instead of standing outside with smoke on their clothes, they could use something that gave them the hand movement, the inhale, the flavour and the pause, but without combustion.

For some adult vapers, vaping became the first thing that actually made stopping smoking feel possible.

Not because it was magic.

Because it fitted into the life they already had.

DIY Vaping Is Not Just “Cheap Vaping”

This is where the vape tax starts to look especially blunt.

DIY vaping, shortfills, refillable tanks, coil building and custom setups are often misunderstood. To people outside the vaping community, it may all look like people simply trying to get cheaper liquid or bigger clouds.

That is part of it for some people, of course. Cost matters. Especially when many smokers are from working-class communities and are already under financial pressure.

But DIY vaping is much more than price.

For a lot of adults, it becomes a hobby. A technical interest. A hands-on routine. A way to take something that was once harmful and compulsive, smoking, and turn it into something more deliberate and controlled.

People learn about:

That is not the same as grabbing a disposable from a corner shop.

It is slower. More considered. More involved.

And in many cases, it is exactly the kind of behaviour we should want to encourage: adult smokers moving towards refillable, reusable, lower-waste, more controlled products.

The Neurodivergent Side Is Often Ignored

This part needs to be handled carefully.

Vaping is not a treatment for ADHD, autism, anxiety or stress. It should not be marketed that way, and nobody responsible should claim that it is.

But that does not mean we should ignore the fact that some neurodivergent adults may be drawn to parts of vaping for reasons that go beyond nicotine.

For some people, especially those who like routine, technical detail, sensory feedback or keeping their hands busy, the more hands-on side of vaping can be appealing.

That might include:

But it is recognising something real: human behaviour is complicated.

Some people smoke because they are addicted to nicotine. Some smoke because it gives them a moment away from stress. Some smoke because their hands feel empty without it. Some smoke because it gives their brain a pause.

And some people vape because it gives them a safer alternative that still keeps some of those routines in place.

That matters when making policy.

The Problem With a Flat Vape Tax

The Vaping Products Duty is expected to be charged at £2.20 per 10ml of vaping liquid, regardless of nicotine strength. That means the tax is based on volume, not how strong the liquid is.

On paper, that may look simple.

In real life, it creates problems.

A person using a lower-strength liquid may use more liquid volume than someone using a stronger product. A person using shortfills or DIY-style liquids may be choosing a refillable system that keeps them away from disposables and cigarettes. A person using 0mg liquid may not be using nicotine at all.

But under this approach, liquid is liquid.

The tax does not appear to care whether the bottle is:

That is the issue.

The tax treats all vaping liquid as if the only thing that matters is the amount of liquid in the bottle.

But adult vaping behaviour is not that simple.

It Risks Punishing the More Responsible End of Vaping

This is the part that should concern people.

For years, responsible vape shops have encouraged adult smokers to move towards proper refillable systems, reliable products, correct nicotine strengths and safer long-term habits.

That is the opposite of the throwaway disposable culture that caused so much concern.

Refillable vaping can be:

But because the tax is based on liquid volume, some of the biggest price impacts may be felt by people using larger bottles or refillable systems.

That could make some refillable options feel far less affordable.

And that matters.

Because when you make the more responsible route more expensive, you risk pushing people towards:

Not everyone will go back to smoking. That would be too simplistic.

But some people will struggle.

And if the price gap between smoking and vaping narrows too much, the public health argument gets weaker.

“Just Tax It” Is Not a Proper Strategy

Nobody serious is saying vaping should be a free-for-all.

Young people should not be vaping. Illegal products should be tackled properly. Retailers who sell to children should be punished. Products should be compliant, labelled correctly and traceable.

Good regulation is needed.

But good regulation should be targeted.

A flat tax on liquid volume feels blunt. It does not properly separate:

That is the concern.

The government has said tobacco duty will also rise alongside the vape duty to maintain a financial incentive to choose vaping over smoking.

But price difference is only one part of the picture.

Availability matters. Affordability matters. Habit replacement matters. Having proper advice matters. Having a setup that suits the person matters.

For many adult smokers, vaping worked because it was accessible and adaptable.

If that gets damaged, the policy may end up hurting the very people it should be helping.

Vaping Is Not Perfect, But It Has Helped Millions Move Away From Smoking

There is a lazy way to talk about vaping, and it usually comes from both extremes.

One side acts like vaping is harmless and should never be questioned.

The other side acts like vaping is just smoking with a battery.

Both are wrong.

Vaping is not harmless. Non-smokers should not start vaping. Young people should not vape. The industry needs proper standards and enforcement.

But for adult smokers, vaping has been one of the most important alternatives to cigarettes.

And for many people, it worked because it understood something that policy often forgets:

They do not smoke only because of nicotine. They do not quit only because of information. They do not change habits just because someone tells them to.

They need something that fits into their life.

For many adults, vaping did that.

It gave them the pause, the hand movement, the flavour, the routine, the control and the moment of escape, without going back to cigarettes.

That is why the vape tax deserves proper scrutiny.

Not because vaping should be above regulation.

But because policy should understand what it is regulating.