Countries Where Vapes Are Banned in 2026: The Full List

At least 46 countries ban the sale of vapes completely. Dozens more have clamped down hard, and the list grows every year. Planning a trip abroad? Just want to know where vaping's illegal? Either way, here's what we found.

Bans don't all work the same way. Some countries have outlawed vapes entirely - can't sell them, can't import them, can't even carry one through the airport. Others have only gone after disposables. And a few technically allow vaping but make it so hard to buy anything that you'd struggle to tell the difference.

Countries With a Complete Vape Ban

Every country in this section has made vaping illegal across the board - refillable kits, disposables, e-liquid, all of it. Some hand out fines. Others will lock you up.

Asia and the Middle East

Asia has some of the strictest and most actively enforced vape bans in the world. Thailand and Singapore are the big ones UK travellers need to worry about.

The Americas

Latin and Central America account for a big chunk of the global ban list. Enforcement is patchier than in Asia, but the laws are on the books.

Africa

Fewer countries on this list, but the bans are real.

Central Asia

Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan both rolled out full bans recently. These are newer additions to the list.

Other

That covers 30+ countries where it's illegal to vape, sell, or even carry a vape through customs. The GGTC (Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control) counted 46 countries banning e-cigarette sales as of May 2025. Several more have joined since.

Countries That Only Ban Disposable Vapes

More and more countries have gone after single-use disposable vapes specifically, while keeping refillable and rechargeable kits perfectly legal. If you're on a pod kit or prefilled pod vape, none of this affects you.

Just to be clear: the UK disposable ban covers every brand. Crystal vapes, Elf Bars, Lost Marys, Hayatis - if it's single-use, it's gone. Only rechargeable and refillable kits are still legal to sell.

The EU is also pushing through a regulation banning all products with non-replaceable built-in batteries, expected by February 2027. Once that lands, most current disposable vape designs will be illegal across every EU member state.

Countries Where Vapes Are Legal But Heavily Regulated

Not every country fits neatly into "banned" or "not banned." These places let you vape, but the hoops you've got to jump through make it complicated.

Australia only allows nicotine vapes with a doctor's prescription, sold through pharmacies. Importing without a permit is illegal. Get caught and you're looking at fines up to AU$2.2 million or 7 years in prison. Recreational vaping without a prescription? Not legal.

Turkey is a weird one. No vape products are actually licensed for sale there, so shops can't legally stock them. But if you bring your own kit from home, you can use it - just not indoors.

Japan bans nicotine-containing e-liquid because it's classed as a pharmaceutical product. Nicotine-free vapes are fine to sell. Flying in with your own kit? You can bring up to 120ml of nicotine e-liquid for personal use.

The United States regulates vapes through the FDA, but rules vary wildly from state to state. California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey have banned flavoured vapes. You've got to be 21 to buy anything vape-related, no matter which state you're in.

EU countries all follow the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), so you're looking at a 20mg/ml nicotine cap, 2ml max tank size, 10ml max bottle size, and health warnings on every pack. Some countries go further on top of that. The Netherlands and Denmark have banned every e-liquid flavour except tobacco.

Why Are So Many Countries Banning Vapes?

Youth vaping is what kicked most of this off. Disposables made it dead easy for teenagers to pick up the habit - cheap, sweet-flavoured, and zero maintenance. That's driven most of the bans across Asia, the Middle East, and increasingly Europe too.

Environmental waste played a big part in the disposable-specific bans. Every single-use vape has a lithium battery, plastic casing, and leftover chemicals inside it. Before the UK ban, roughly 8 million of them were getting binned every week.

Then there's the money angle. A handful of countries ban vapes because their governments make a fortune from cigarette tax revenue. For them, vaping isn't a health tool - it's competition.

What Does This Mean for UK Vapers?

Nothing's really changed for you if you're already on a refillable or rechargeable kit. The UK disposable ban only hit single-use vapes. Refillable pod vape kits, prefilled pod vapes, and nic salt e-liquids are all still legal and easy to get hold of.

Heading abroad? Use the country lists above as a starting point, and check out our guide to taking vapes on a plane for airport rules and airline policies.

One thing to remember: laws change fast, and enforcement varies wildly from one country to the next. Always check your destination's government travel advice before you fly.