Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 10 July 2026.

Ministers have launched a crackdown on vapes marketed at kids with a shift to plain white packaging.

• Plans to keep vapes out of sight in shops and airports
• Plain packaging for all tobacco products, including cigars and cigarette papers

Plans to stop vapes being marketed to children have been unveiled today (10 July 2026) as part of a UK-wide consultation to introduce plain packaging and restrictions on flavour description rules, and keep vapes out of sight in shops.

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) reports that around one million 11 to 17 year olds in Great Britain reported trying vaping in 2025. Evidence suggests that colourful packaging, prominent retail displays and child-appealing flavours are among the factors driving young people to take it up.

The UK government and the devolved governments have launched a consultation that includes proposals to reduce the appeal of vapes to young children, including white packaging with restrictions on text colour, imagery and branding, as well as standardised product information.

There will also be restrictions on flavour names – to simple recognisable descriptions – and vape devices – to be white, black or grey.

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, James Murray, said:

The evidence is clear: there are too many young people experimenting with vapes, attracted by the array of flavours, bright colours and marketing displays.

We want a healthier future for the next generation, so we must act now to reduce the appeal of addictive vapes to our children.

Vapes are less harmful than cigarettes and can play an important role in helping adult smokers to quit, but they should never be designed or marketed in ways that tempt children. These proposals are about striking the right balance and I urge everyone to have their say.

Standardised packaging has helped reduce the appeal of smoking since its introduction for cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco in 2017.

The consultation proposes to extend these requirements for all tobacco products, including cigars and cigarette papers.

Further proposals include introducing positive quit-themed inserts directing smokers to resources to quit and health warnings for all tobacco products, as well as removing displays for tobacco products in duty-free settings and airports.

The consultation follows the passage of the Tobacco and Vapes Act, which received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026 and sets out proposals to create the UK’s first smoke-free generation, protecting children from nicotine addiction while ensuring adult smokers can still access vaping products to help them quit.

There is also growing awareness and use among young people of other nicotine products, including nicotine pouches, which are covered by several of the proposed measures.

Scotland Public Health Minister, Maree Todd, said:

Scotland has been a world leader on a range of tobacco control measures, and while there has been a steady reduction in smoking rates, we know it still damages lives and kills more than 7,000 people a year in Scotland.

The use of vapes has increased in recent years, particularly among children and young people – with almost 1 in 5 children saying they have tried vaping.

We know that colourful packaging and displays are used as an enticement to children and young people, which is why we are taking action and consulting on options to address this issue. We urge everyone to have their say on how these products are marketed and sold in the future to help protect children and young people and reduce preventable harm in Scotland.

Northern Ireland Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt, said:

The rise in vaping among children and young people concerns me. Restricting the visibility of these products will lessen their appeal, which in turn will reduce youth vaping and prevent future generations from nicotine addiction.

I consider it vital that we get the views from the public on the future of displaying and packaging of these products. I would encourage everyone to take the time to respond to this consultation.

Wales Deputy Minister for Preventative and Public Health, Nerys Evans, said:

Vapes are being deliberately designed and marketed to appeal to children – with bright colours, cartoon branding and sweet-sounding flavour names that have no place in products containing addictive nicotine.

It is simply unacceptable and I would urge everyone to support our efforts to protect children’s health.

Professor Steve Turner, President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), said:  

Any measures that improve child health are welcome and much needed. As paediatricians, we are deeply concerned by the insidious marketing practices used by tobacco and vaping companies to target our future generations.   

For those of us working with children every day, it is clear that only strong and meaningful regulation will protect them from the harms associated with nicotine addiction. We welcome this consultation as an important step towards creating a healthier future for children and young people.

Hazel Cheeseman, Chief Executive of ASH, said:

Protecting children from harmful vape marketing is the right thing to do. Attractive, colourful branding and images have driven the appeal of vapes to children leading to an increase in use. At the same time there is a careful balance to strike with regulations. While vapes are not harm free, they are significantly less harmful than smoking, and vapes have helped millions of people successfully stop smoking in recent years.

The task now is to thread the needle of making vaping less appealing to children without making it less effective for adults who want to quit smoking. Get that balance wrong, and we risk slowing progress against smoking, the leading cause of preventable death.

The consultation seeks views on proposals for vapes and nicotine products including:

• introducing plain white packaging with restrictions on text colour, imagery, limited branding and standardised safety information
• restricting flavour names to only simple recognisable descriptions (such as ‘apple’), banning concept and sensory names as well as names relating to confectionery, sweets, desserts and alcohol
• mandating manufacturers of vape devices to make them white, black or grey, with no images, limited branding, no cosmetic lights and screens only displaying safety information (for example, battery level)
• restrict shop displays in the same way as tobacco products

Further measures in the proposals for tobacco products include:

• extending existing plain packaging requirements and health warnings for cigarettes across all tobacco products, herbal smoking products, cigarette papers and heated tobacco devices
• introducing positive quit-support messages inside all tobacco products, including cigarettes, hand-rolling tobacco, herbal smoking products and heated tobacco devices
• extending existing tobacco display restrictions to all tobacco-related products, cigarette papers and herbal smoking products
• removing an existing display exemption for bulk tobacconists, including duty-free shops and airports, meaning that tobacco products would be restricted from display in these settings
• restricting heated tobacco devices to a drab brown colour the same as tobacco packaging, with no images, limited branding, no cosmetic lights and screens only displaying safety information (for example, battery level)

This consultation is part of wider action to tackle youth vaping. It follows a ban on single-use vapes (1 June 2025), and comes ahead of:

• the introduction of a Vaping Products Duty (1 October 2026)
• future bans on the sale of vapes from vending machines and their free distribution (29 October 2026)
• an end to the advertising and sponsorship of vapes (1 June 2027)

Councillor Dr Wendy Taylor MBE, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Health and Wellbeing Committee, said:

Reducing the appeal of vapes to children with tighter controls on flavours, packaging and promotion, will be key to addressing the concerning rise in youth vaping.

There is no legitimate reason for nicotine products to come in neon packaging, feature cartoon images or use flavours and branding designed to catch a child’s eye. Products designed, packaged and promoted in ways that appeal to children have likely contributed to one in five 11 to 17 year-olds having now tried vaping.

Councils have long called for an end to vapes being dressed up like sweets and sold within arm’s reach of the pick and mix. This consultation is the moment to close the loopholes that have enabled these products that appeal to children to remain on sale.

Ailsa Rutter OBE, Director of Fresh and Balance, said:

We welcome measures in the Tobacco and Vapes Act that support our vision of ending the death and disease caused by tobacco and preventing future generations from taking up lethal smoking.

We support standardised packaging of all tobacco products. This would have the biggest impact if it is alongside public awareness campaigns on the harms of tobacco and benefits of quitting.

We know that nicotine vapes are playing a very important role in helping people quit smoking, but it is right that action is taken to reduce youth appeal. It is vital that regulations do not increase harm misconceptions about vaping compared with smoking, and that the impact of all these policies on health inequalities is closely monitored.

Dr Ian Walker, Executive Director of Policy and Information of Cancer Research UK, said:

Evidence so far shows that legal vapes are far less harmful than tobacco, but we still don’t know their long-term impact, so it’s absolutely right that the UK government is taking steps to reduce the appeal and availability of vapes to young people and those who have never smoked.

As vapes are an effective cessation tool, any new regulation must make sure they are still accessible to people trying to stop smoking. Tobacco remains the biggest cause of cancer in the UK, so we’re also pleased to see plans to extend plain packaging to all tobacco products, which is proven to help shield children from a deadly addiction.

Thanks to the world-leading Tobacco and Vapes Act becoming law, a future free from the devastating harms of tobacco is firmly within reach. Governments across the UK must now ensure the act is implemented fully in every nation.

Andrew McCracken, Director of External Affairs at Asthma + Lung UK, said:

This is an important first step to reduce the appeal of vaping products to children and young people. The brazen marketing of vapes to children is reprehensible and needs to be stopped.

We do not want to see anybody vaping, other than for smoking cessation. Vapes do play an important role to smokers looking to quit, but if you don’t smoke, don’t vape.

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Executive at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said:

Eye-catching branding, bright colours and enticing names have no place on vaping products that should never be used by children.

Too many lives are still cut short by tobacco-related heart attacks and strokes, so the government is right to look at ways of making tobacco and vaping products less attractive to young people.

Having already taken the historic step of stopping future generations from ever being legally sold cigarettes, the government must now press ahead with confidence and urgency to create a smoke-free generation sooner than any thought possible.

Alison Challenger, Policy Co-Lead for Addiction at the Association of Directors of Public Health, said:

We are pleased to see this consultation launched to support stronger restrictions on tobacco and vape product packaging. These products are designed to attract and keep our communities, and more worryingly our children and young people, hooked on these health-harming products, often through eye-catching marketing, youth-friendly messaging and strategic placement.

That is why we need standardised, plain packaging, particularly across vapes, that strips away the branding and promotional design used to make these products enticing. Alongside this, we need to better support people to quit smoking and make the harms of tobacco clearer.

Only by reducing the appeal and accessibility of these products can we stop the harms of smoking and create a smoke-free future where everyone, especially our children and young people, have the freedom to live healthier lives.

Background information

This consultation is UK-wide and runs for 12 weeks from launch.

Proposed regulations in this consultation stem from powers within the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 29 April.

No immediate changes to law are being made at this stage. Regulations will be developed following analysis of consultation responses.

Medicinally licensed nicotine products are exempt from these proposals and are subject to different legislation.  

Tobacco products include:

• cigars
• cigarillos
• pipe tobacco
• waterpipe tobacco (for example, shisha)
• nasal tobacco (snuff)
• chewing tobacco
• heated tobacco
• blunts

Cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco are already covered by plain packaging legislation and will have pack inserts introduced in due course. The consultation will cover all tobacco products, meaning it is futureproofed for any tobacco new product that is developed.

Proposed plain packaging legislation in line with existing cigarette packaging is for all tobacco products, herbal smoking products, heated tobacco devices and cigarette papers.

Proposed quit-themed pack inserts for all tobacco products, herbal smoking products and heated tobacco devices but not cigarette papers due to their small size.

The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 7 July 2026.

National framework launched to help reduce premature deaths from heart disease and strokes by a quarter over the next decade.

• New partnership with Diabetes UK to educate public on links between cardiovascular disease and diabetes and how to reduce risks for millions of people
• Action to tackle the 70% of preventable cardiovascular disease linked to risk factors including high blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking and other behaviours to help reduce pressure on NHS and reduce health inequalities

Thousands of lives could be saved and millions more improved as the government sets out plans for the health and care system to help cut the one in four early deaths caused by heart disease and strokes.

Today (Tuesday 7 July) the government has launched the Cardiovascular disease modern service framework, which will be used to drive better prevention, earlier diagnosis, faster treatment  and more consistent care through health and care services across the country.

Every 3 minutes somebody in the UK dies from heart or circulatory disease with around 33,000 people dying prematurely from heart disease and stroke every year.

The framework supports the government’s ambition to cut premature deaths from heart disease and stroke by 25% over the next 10 years and will be supported through a series of partnerships between government and charities – beginning today with Diabetes UK.

The partnership with Diabetes UK will raise awareness of the links between type 2 diabetes and heart disease and include a public awareness campaign as well as greater use of the Know Your Risk tool so people better understand the risks to their health and the positive actions they can take.

Cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes are closely linked, with people living with diabetes or prediabetes at significantly higher risk of heart attack and stroke. More than 4 million people in the UK have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, with a further 1.3 million thought to be living with it without knowing.

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, James Murray, said:

Too many people are dying early from heart attacks and strokes that we know are preventable.

This is not good enough and that’s why we are setting clear priorities to help people stay healthier for longer, identify and diagnose serious disease much earlier, and deliver better treatment when it is needed.

But we know we cannot do all this by ourselves. That is why I am proud of our new partnership with Diabetes UK, the first of many, through which we will work closely with expert organisations to help people reduce their risk of getting ill and know where to get help.

Supporting delivery of the 10 Year Health Plan, the framework marks a clear shift from reactive care to prevention, improving population health while reducing pressure on NHS services.

The framework will establish 12 immediate priorities over the next 3 years, setting out initiatives local health and care systems should deliver to cut mortality and reduce inequalities.

Priorities include:

• finding and supporting people with high-risk conditions, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, chronic kidney disease, diabetes and heart failure, to stay healthier for longer through better management and personalised care
• ensuring people who have a heart attack or stroke receive faster, higher quality treatment when every minute counts
• improving access to rehabilitation and ongoing support so people can recover well and return to everyday life

Successful implementation of the framework could prevent between 1,600 and 2,400 premature deaths annually from heart disease and stroke (in those aged under 75) in the first 3 years, and between 3,850 and 4,900 such deaths per year after 10 years, while supporting wider efforts across the health and care system to improve outcomes.

Public Health Minister, Sharon Hodgson MP, said:

Thousands of lives are being cut short every year by preventable conditions. We know how to prevent and treat these conditions and we must do more to ensure people are getting the help they need.

The new cardiovascular disease modern service framework is an important step forward, committing local services to work together and deliver care for the people most in need. This is how we move from reactive care to prevention.

Colette Marshall, Chief Executive at Diabetes UK, said:

We’re pleased to be partnering with the Department of Health and Social Care to support its goal of reducing premature deaths from cardiovascular disease over the next decade.

Diabetes can lead to serious complications, including heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular conditions, but the risk of these can be reduced if people have equitable access to high-quality care.

We welcome the focus these new plans place on finding and supporting those at risk of type 2 diabetes and preventing the condition where possible. These improvements will also help people living with all types of diabetes manage their condition better and live longer, healthier lives.

Professor Frankie Swords, National Medical Director of NHS England, said:

Millions of people are living with common risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes without even knowing it, putting them at increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Through our prevention accelerators, NHS staff are already working with local partners to find those most at risk and offer them the right support and treatment before a silent health problem turns into a potentially life-threatening emergency.

This new partnership with Diabetes UK will build on that work, ensuring even more people understand their risk, so they are able take steps to improve their health with the support of NHS staff.

Our cardiovascular disease modern service framework sets out how we will cut premature deaths from heart disease and stroke by a quarter within a decade.

We will do this by shifting care closer to home, prioritising early diagnosis and prevention, and by delivering joined-up cardiovascular, kidney and metabolic care.

The prevention accelerators programme, which launched last month, will help deliver the priorities set out in the framework, bringing together local NHS services, councils and community partners to identify people at risk, improve uptake of high-impact cardiovascular disease and diabetes interventions and support healthier behaviours.

Jules Payne, Chief Executive of Heart UK, the cholesterol charity, said:

We applaud the government’s ambition to reduce premature deaths from cardiovascular disease, as set out in the modern service framework.

High cholesterol is a key risk factor for heart attack and stroke, so raised cholesterol needs to be prevented, diagnosed and managed earlier rather than later in life.

We also need to better detect and manage inherited lipid (or blood fat) conditions such as familial hypercholesterolaemia and lipoprotein(a). Heart UK looks forward to being involved in the implementation of this strategy to better tackle prevention together.

Professor Bryan Williams, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at the British Heart Foundation (BHF), said:

Today’s publication cements cardiovascular disease as a national priority and is a significant step towards saving more lives from heart attack and stroke.

With extraordinary pressure on the NHS, and cardiovascular disease claiming one life every 4 minutes in England, this focus on cardiovascular care cannot come too soon.

We welcome plans to double down on prevention, as keeping people healthy and preventing disease in the first place is how we meet the scale of this challenge. It shows the government is serious about its ambition to reduce early deaths.

We look forward to working alongside government to help deliver the change that patients need.

Juliet Bouverie OBE, Chief Executive of the Stroke Association, said:

We welcome the government’s renewed commitment to both saving and improving the lives of people affected by cardiovascular disease, including stroke. At a time when more people of all ages are having strokes, this has never been more urgently needed.

We look forward to partnering with the government and NHS, so these changes become reality for the 240 people who survive stroke every day in the UK.

We know that implementation needs to tackle the inequalities which all too often blight stroke prevention and treatment as well as ongoing recovery. Only then will stroke patients not only survive, but also get the rehabilitation and support they need to recover and rebuild their lives.

Alison Railton, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at Kidney Research UK, said:

People with chronic kidney disease are 20 times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than kidney failure, but early intervention can reduce these risks. Of the 7.2 million people in the UK with kidney disease, around half are undiagnosed, often living in the dark until crisis point.

That makes the government’s commitment to targeted testing vital to finding the missing millions. We look forward to working with the government to help deliver the changes set out in this strategy, including better access to life-saving drugs such as SGLT2 inhibitors, which can slow kidney disease progression and protect heart health.

Greg Fell OBE, President of the Association of Directors of Public Health, said:

Like with many conditions, cardiovascular disease can only be reduced by working together to tackle its causes and manage its impacts, and today’s announcement shows a clear commitment to support national and local partnerships to do just that.

Alongside improving diagnosis, creating environments which reduce the chance of developing cardiovascular disease is crucial to reducing deaths.

Directors of public health and their teams already work in partnership with charities, primary care and the wider health system to build healthier places for us all to live, work and play in, regardless of our background or where we live, and are uniquely placed to support this work, helping to save lives now, and prevent heart and circulatory diseases for generations to come.

Background information

The framework will introduce priority areas for change designed to:

• use neighbourhood outreach, population health tools and digital records to locate the missing millions of people with undiagnosed cardiovascular disease or whose lifestyles put them at increased risk
• better target and manage the care for those at higher risk of conditions including high cholesterol or blood pressure, and increase the proportion of people with well-managed high blood pressure to 80% over the next 3 years
• bring a renewed focus on underserved groups and communities who already experience health inequalities
• speed up and improve acute care for stroke, reducing treatment delays
• improve access to rehabilitation

The programme forms part of the government’s 10 Year Health Plan, shifting the NHS from treating illness to preventing it, while helping to reduce pressure on GP services and hospitals.

This announcement follows on from the June launch of 5 prevention accelerators to test new ways of identifying people at risk of serious illness earlier and helping them stay healthier for longer.

Prevention accelerators programme

The programme is an important part of the government’s commitment to shift the health service from treating sickness to preventing illness.

The first prevention accelerators are being established in Greater London, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, South Yorkshire and the West Midlands. The initial focus will be on preventing cardiovascular disease and related conditions, as cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of premature death in England.

The programme will support local NHS organisations, local councils, mayoral combined authorities and community partners to work together and identify people at risk before they become seriously unwell.

Prevention accelerators will help more people access blood pressure checks and earlier support to manage conditions that can lead to heart attacks and strokes. The initiative will test innovative, community-led approaches that can be expanded across the country if proven successful.

The programme aims to tackle health inequalities by targeting communities where preventable illness and premature death are highest. Evidence suggests that improving blood pressure control could prevent millions of healthcare episodes over the next decade, reducing pressure on GP practices and hospitals.

Learning from the 5 prevention accelerator sites will inform future efforts to improve prevention services and help people live longer, healthier lives.

Prevention accelerators is about actively finding people at risk earlier and better managing their condition, including by taking simple health checks into everyday settings where people already are, rather than waiting for them to turn up at GP surgeries or in A&E.