Is Vaping Still Cheaper Than Smoking After VPD?

A look at vaping vs smoking costs after VPD

Vaping Regulations

Will Vaping be cheaper than smoking now VPD is here? It’s a valid concern, so we have done the hard work to try and answer that for you.

Will Vaping Remain Cheaper Than Smoking?

Yes. Vaping remains significantly cheaper than smoking in the UK, even after Vaping Products Duty (VPD) comes into force.

That doesn’t mean vaping will be unaffected, it will be.

As of the 1st October 2026, Vaping Products Duty introduced a charge of £2.20 per 10ml of vaping liquid, or 22p per ml (£2.64 with VAT added). However, tobacco duty is also increasing, adding further cost to cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Importantly, the two products aren’t starting from anything like the same price.

A smoker buying a £17.80 packet of 20 cigarettes every day is already spending more than £500 a month. A vaper buying several 10ml bottles of e-liquid, or using a big puff kit, will still spend considerably less.

And at The Electronic Cigarette Company, we’re going one step further.

The Electronic Cigarette Company Price Freeze

We’re currently freezing prices at pre-VPD levels on some of our most popular products, including ELFLIQ, ELUX Legend E-liquid and Hayati pods, meaning customers can continue buying these products at their existing prices for as long as stock allows.

The Price Freeze can continue until no later than April 2027. After this, only tax stamped products may be sold, and costs may need to be reflected in pricing. It could end sooner if our pre-VPD stock runs out before then.

So, for customers shopping with us, the cost of vaping can remain lower than the VPD calculations shown below for the time being.

How Much Will Vaping Products Duty Add?

HMRC has set VPD at £2.20 per 10ml of vaping liquid (£2.64 with VAT).

Thats:

The duty applies whether or not the liquid contains nicotine.

Importantly, this is not a £2.20 tax on every vape.

A refillable vape kit sold without liquid will not be subject to VPD. The duty applies only to e-liquid.

It’s a particularly important point to remember when you’re comparing costs.

How Much Does Smoking Cost in 2026?

The 2026 price information gives us a useful benchmark.

ASH Scotland reported an average price of £17.80 for a 20-pack of cigarettes in January 2026, with the most expensive brands costing around £19.65 to £20.05.

At £17.80 a packet, smoking 20 cigarettes every day costs:

• £17.80 per day
• £124.60 per week
• £534 per 30-day month
• £6,497 per year

And that was before the October 2026 tobacco duty increase.

Cigarettes Are Getting More Expensive

VPD isn’t the only tax change taking place on 1st October 2026.

The Government is also increasing Tobacco Products Duty.

From 1st October, cigarette duty is set at the higher of 16.5% of the retail price plus £394.09 per 1,000 cigarettes, or the minimum excise level of £518.75 per 1,000 cigarettes. HMRC estimates the change adds £1.21 to a packet of 20 cigarettes.

If that full £1.21 increase is reflected in the retail price, our £17.80 benchmark becomes roughly:

£19.01 per packet.

That would mean a 20-a-day smoker spends approximately:

£570.30 per month.

Or:

£6,935.50 per year.

This is an important comparison, as it shows smoking costs aren’t staying the same while vaping becomes subject to VPD.

Vaping vs Smoking: An Example

Let’s take a vaper using 80ml of e-liquid per month.

Suppose the current price of a 10ml bottle is £2.49.

Eight bottles cost:

£19.92

After adding the full £2.64 VPD/VAT to each bottle:

£5.13 x 8 = £41.04

Even at full post duty numbers, that’s about £41.04 per month for 80ml of liquid.

Compare that with approximately £570.30 per month for someone smoking 20 cigarettes a day at the post October increase.

Of course, we know individual vaping consumption varies wildly, and the cost of a complete vaping setup also includes the device and, depending on the system, replacement pods or coils.

But ultimately, the underlying price difference here really is material.

What About Big Puff Vapes?

Big puff vapes are affected because e-liquid comes with the product.

For example, the Hayati Pro Max Plus contains 12ml of liquid.

At 22p per ml, the VPD attributable to that liquid is:

12ml x £0.22 = £2.64 (£3.17 with VAT)

Our current price is £7.99, so with VPD being passed directly through to the customer, the illustrative price would be £11.16 with VAT.

That’s still dramatically below the cost of buying 20 cigarettes every day.

The same principle applies to larger systems.

A product containing 20ml of liquid carries £5.28 of VPD, whereas a 22ml product has £5.81.

The more liquid a product contains, the greater the VPD charge, but that also means the customer is receiving considerably more vaping liquid.

Our Price Freeze Makes the Difference

Here at The Electronic Cigarette Company, we have introduced a Price Freeze on selected popular products.

That includes products such as:

• ELFLIQ
• ELUX Legend E-liquid
• Hayati pods
• Other select popular products

This means you can continue getting the same pricing on eligible stock, rather than immediately paying VPD prices.

The Price Freeze can run until April 2027 at the latest, although it could end earlier if the stock covered by the initiative sells through.

For now, it’s a great opportunity to continue buying popular vaping products at their existing prices while stocks last.

So Is Vaping Still Cheaper Than Smoking?

By a very wide margin for many people, yes.

VPD will narrow the gap a little, particularly for high capacity liquid products. But it doesn’t change the significant cost difference between buying vape liquid and buying a packet of cigarettes every day.

A 20 per day smoker spending around £19.01 a day is spending more than £570 every 30 days.

A vaper using eight bottles of e-liquid per month is likely to spend little more than £40. Even with the cost of replacement pods, batteries or kits, you’ll potentially still save hundreds per month.

Big puff users need to look more carefully at liquid capacity and replacement frequency. But these products can still offer great value, because one product can contain 10ml, 12ml, 20ml or more of vaping liquid.

Conclusion

VPD will make vaping more expensive. There’s no point pretending otherwise.

But to think that the VPD will make vaping as expensive as smoking simply doesn’t stand up to the numbers.

VPD is £2.64 with VAT per 10ml.

Tobacco duty is also increasing.

And cigarette prices are already vastly higher than the cost of most vaping formats.

Plus, for customers of The Electronic Cigarette Company, our Price Freeze also means selected popular products remain at their pre-VPD prices for as long as our eligible stock lasts.

If you’re trying to work out exactly what your vaping needs will cost after VPD, we have further articles covering e-liquid, prefilled pods, big puff vapes and the wider UK VPD changes.

Sources

Written by

Richard Fleetwood

Richard joined the business in 2014. Having worked as Customer Service Manager for 3 years, he was since promoted and enjoyed a 9-year stretch as Web/E-commerce Manager, using his vaping expertise to oversee impressive website growth, written content, blogs and weekly customer communications. He now serves as SEO Content Writer. Providing content that gives vapers the help and advice they need to make an informed choice is his specialty. Having also worked in the product & technical department, he is no stranger to breaking down various vape jargon and product specifications into something that is easy to read and understand. An experienced vaper for over 13 years, he is passionate about writing for the website and blogs in support of the industry he loves. He has formed connections with major brands like Innokin, SMOK, VOOPOO and many more. He loves spending time gaming and is also a huge Iron Maiden fan!