UKVIA Vaping Industry Forum 2026: Making vaping policy work best
About this Event
Over the coming months, decisions will be made that could define the future of vaping in this country – not just for businesses, but for the millions of adult smokers who still need credible, accessible alternatives to cigarettes.
This year’s Forum reflects the urgency of the moment, bringing together industry leaders, government agencies, parliamentarians, consumer groups, public health professionals, enforcement agencies and regulators to ensure vaping is properly understood and gets a fair hearing. There are millions of lives at stake and it's critical that the responsible vaping sector can play a leading role in delivering a smokefree future.
A full itinerary will appear on the UKVIA website over the coming weeks. The day will start at 9.30am with a UKVIA board meeting for full and associate members with the Forum starting at 11:00am and closing at 4.30pm.
Agenda
🕑: 09:00 AM
Board meeting registration (UKVIA members only)
🕑: 09:30 AM
Board meeting commences
🕑: 10:30 AM
Forum registration and networking
🕑: 10:45 AM
Board meeting closes
🕑: 11:00 AM
Forum opening address from UKVIA Director General John Dunne
🕑: 11:05 AM
Adding up the true cost of the Vaping Products Duty
Info: Whilst the Tobacco & Vapes Act has been the centre of attention in the vape industry, the Vaping Products Duty is expected to be the single biggest challenge faced by the sector and the UK’s smoke-free ambitions – and it is now just months away.
This session brings together a panel of experts to share their thoughts on newly released research into its impact on consumer behaviour, smoking cessation, the illicit market and the delivery of vital stop smoking services.
🕑: 12:05 PM
Countdown to October: Preparing for the Vaping Products Duty
Info: With the Vaping Products Duty now just around the corner, this session provides practical guidance on the key need to knows for businesses across the sector as they prepare for its introduction.
🕑: 12:20 PM
Vape licensing 2.0: Defining what a fit-for-purpose scheme looks like
Info: The inclusion of retail licensing within the Tobacco and Vapes Act marks a major victory for the legitimate vape sector. The focus now? Ensuring any future system is fit for purpose.
In this interactive session, led by Dan Marchant the brainchild of the vape licensing scheme that the UKVIA put to the last two governments, we will build on the existing industry framework to explore what an effective scheme must look like if it is to truly help tackle unscrupulous sellers and protect the responsible sector.
🕑: 01:00 PM
Lunch break
🕑: 02:00 PM
Making the five million vapers’ vote count
Info: With more than five million adult vapers in the UK and counting, this session explores the growing electoral weight of the community, and why parliamentarians cannot afford to ignore it in an increasingly volatile political climate.
It also provides practical guidance on how the industry can engage effectively with local MPs and prospective parliamentary candidates on the need for balanced, evidence-led policy – and how retailers and manufacturers can help mobilise consumers to do the same.
🕑: 02:35 PM
An update from the Responsible Vaping APPG
Info: This session provides an update from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Responsible Vaping, set against one of the most consequential periods in the sector’s history and a period of significant regulatory and policy change.
It will explore the APPG’s recent activity, key areas of focus and what these mean for the next phase of engagement around the sector.
🕑: 02:50 PM
A one-to-one with OPSS: Environmental and WEEE compliance guidance for vape bu
Info: Environmental and WEEE compliance is a core responsibility for businesses operating in the vape sector.
In this special one-to-one session, our Director General will speak with OPSS Senior Regulatory Compliance Lead (WEEE & Battery), Bubbly Sandhu, who will share best-practice guidance on environmental and WEEE compliance for the vaping industry and answer questions from businesses across the sector.
Have a question you’d like to see asked? Submit it here: https://forms.monday.com/forms/a73359ffc5bc49e875d943dec0a9e4dd?r=euc1
🕑: 03:10 PM
Coffee break
🕑: 03:30 PM
A taste of the truth: Building on the evidence base for vape flavours
Info: Flavours play an undeniable role in helping adults make the switch to vaping and stay smoke-free – but don’t just take the industry’s word for it.
This session unpacks the growing evidence base highlighting the importance of flavours, including findings from a newly released consumer survey which received more than 3,500 responses, alongside fresh Freedom of Information data on flavour use within local authority stop smoking services across the country.
🕑: 04:00 PM
Our story, told our way: tackling misinformation and shaping the narrative on
Info: Drawing on their collective newsroom experience across titles including The Sun, New Scientist, BBC Health and Science Business, Patrick Griffin and Dr Marina Murphy explore how misleading and non-evidence-based narratives around vaping take hold – and what the sector can do to challenge them.
From tackling clickbait anti-vaping storylines to communicating the success story of vaping, this session focuses on strategies to ensure vaping is not treated as a ‘dirty word’ in public debate.
🕑: 04:25 PM
Closing remarks
🕑: 04:30 PM - 05:30 PM
Post-Forum networking
Where is it happening?
GBP 0.00 to GBP 64.88
