What Is The Tobacco And Related Products Regulations
What Is the Tobacco
and Related Products
Regulations (TPD)
The UK TPD is the single most important piece of legislation behind every vape product legally sold in the UK. Nicotine strength, tank size, ingredient rules, labelling plus notification all live inside this one statutory instrument.
The TPD in UK law is the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016. The statutory instrument that transposed the 2014 EU Tobacco Products Directive into UK domestic law. It came into force in May 2016. It covers both vape products plus traditional tobacco products. Five core areas apply to vaping. Design limits at 2ml tank, 10ml bottle plus 20mg/ml nicotine. Ingredient restrictions including a list of banned substances. MHRA notification six months before any sale. Labelling rules with 30% health warnings. Advertising restrictions across UK media. The UK TPD was retained post-Brexit and continues to apply unchanged.
Three figures every UK
vape product is built around
The headline limits set by the TPD that every legal UK vape respects. Strength, tank capacity plus bottle size.
Nicotine ceiling
Maximum nicotine concentration in any UK vape e-liquid. Applies to nic salts, shortfills once diluted plus all formats.
Tank capacity cap
Maximum capacity of any UK-legal pod or tank. Covers both refillable and pre-filled pods.
Bottle size cap
Maximum bottle size for UK pre-mixed nicotine e-liquid. Shortfills use 0mg/ml bases to stay within the rule.
Five areas the UK TPD covers for vape products
The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 are the backbone of UK vape law. Every other vape rule either sits inside them or connects directly to them. The regulations run to over 100 pages but the vape-relevant content splits cleanly into five areas.
Area 1: design limits on devices plus liquids
The TPD caps the physical specification of every UK-legal vape. Key design rules:
- Nicotine strength 20mg/ml maximum in any e-liquid regardless of format.
- Tank or pod capacity 2ml maximum.
- Pre-mixed bottle size 10ml maximum for nicotine-containing e-liquid.
- Child-resistant closures mandatory on every bottle.
- Tamper-evident seals on both bottles and retail packs.
- Leak-resistant design required under normal use plus transport.
Area 2: ingredient restrictions
Schedule 1 of the TPD lists banned substances that cannot appear in UK vape e-liquid. The list includes:
- Vitamins or substances marketed as nutritional benefits.
- Caffeine or taurine or any stimulant beyond nicotine itself.
- Any CMR-listed compound for carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic concerns at exposure-relevant levels.
- Colourants that cause emissions to change appearance.
- Any substance creating an impression of health benefit.
Area 3: MHRA notification
The TPD created the UK vape notification system. Every SKU must be notified to the MHRA at least six months before placement on the market. Key points:
- £150 per new SKU notification fee.
- £60 per substantial amendment to an existing notification.
- 40+ data fields required in every submission.
- UKAS-accredited emissions testing plus stability testing attached.
- Searchable notified products database published at gov.uk.
- Annual reporting plus adverse event reporting required post-launch.
Area 4: labelling and packaging
The TPD sets mandatory information for every UK vape retail pack:
- 30% health warning front and back covering nicotine addictive status.
- Full ingredient list on pack or information leaflet.
- Nicotine strength clearly stated in mg/ml.
- Bottle or pod capacity in ml.
- Batch code plus expiry date for traceability.
- Producer or importer UK address.
- Information leaflet with usage, storage plus safety guidance.
Area 5: advertising restrictions
The TPD prohibits cross-border advertising in certain UK media plus gives the ASA plus CAP Code additional framework for domestic advertising. Key restrictions:
- No TV or radio advertising of nicotine vape products.
- No print advertising in cross-border publications.
- No online paid advertising in mainstream formats though social media content is handled separately by the ASA.
- Point of sale display restrictions reinforced by reserve powers in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
- No sponsorship of events with cross-border effects.
Four reasons the UK TPD
was retained after Brexit
Product safety framework
The TPD created a working safety regime. Replacing it would have left a regulatory gap. Keeping it was the default position.
Industry alignment with EU
UK vape producers also sell into EU markets. Keeping TPD rules preserves simpler dual-market compliance.
Public health continuity
Public health bodies supported retention. Changing the strength cap, tank size or notification would undermine a settled framework.
Parliamentary bandwidth
Rewriting the TPD would have taken major Commons time. Other Brexit priorities came first. The TPD was retained as-is.
UK vape market before
the TPD vs after
The 2016 TPD fundamentally reshaped the UK vape market. This is the before-and-after picture.
Unregulated market
- ✗No nicotine cap. 24mg/ml freebase common.
- ✗No tank size limit. Large format tanks were standard.
- ✗No notification. Any product could reach market.
- ✗Inconsistent labelling across brands.
- ✗No mandatory emissions testing.
- ✗Advertising more permissive across UK media.
TPD regulated market
- ✓20mg/ml nicotine cap across every format.
- ✓2ml tank cap plus 10ml bottle cap.
- ✓Six-month MHRA notification for every SKU.
- ✓Standardised labelling with 30% warning requirement.
- ✓UKAS emissions testing on every submission.
- ✓No TV, radio or cross-border print advertising.
The TPD is the single legislative pillar under every UK vape rule. For the full picture visit our vaping FAQs hub. Every major UK vape regulation question sits inside.
Back to the Vaping FAQs hub
This article sits inside our complete FAQs knowledge base. Head back to the hub for the full index covering MHRA rules, TPD, the 2025 disposable ban, the 2026 vape tax plus retailer compliance.
More on the UK TPD & MHRA framework
The TPD headline rules are best understood in product terms. Our full breakdown on how TPD rules affect vape devices and e-liquids walks through every physical limit in real products. The 20mg/ml nicotine ceiling has its own logic covered in why nicotine strength is capped at 20mg in the UK. The compliance status every legal UK vape carries is explained in what it means if a vape product is MHRA compliant.