On 29 October 2026, the provisions in the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 that prohibit the free distribution or the selling at a substantial discount of certain products came into force. The products (‘relevant products’) captured within the scope of this prohibition are tobacco products, herbal smoking products, cigarette papers, vaping products and nicotine products. 

These provisions prohibit free giveaways of the relevant products or coupons to a member of the public, or selling the relevant products or coupons at a substantial discount, if the purpose or effect of doing so is to promote those products. The prohibition also applies to other products that have the purpose or effect of promoting the relevant products. 

The only exemption to the prohibition is if vaping products, nicotine products or coupons for these products were given away in accordance with arrangements made by a public authority. 

The CAP and BCAP Codes include rules that require ads to comply with the law. To support compliance with these rules, CAP and BCAP have produced joint guidance to alert advertisers, agencies and media owners to the new restriction. The guidance sets out CAP and BCAP’s understanding of the scope of the prohibition. It also explains the Code rules that the ASA is likely to consider in relation to marketing communications that fall within the remit of the Codes and feature such practices. 

Read our guidance in full here.

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