Meeting of the Parliament 18 March 2026 [Draft]
Scotland is the only country in the United Kingdom with a tobacco and vapes retail register. All businesses, regardless of size, need to be registered in order to be able to sell such products in Scotland. The register exists to support the enforcement of regulation on age-restricted products, given the public health harms of tobacco and vaping. Individual business owners are responsible for registering any business that sells tobacco and/or vapes, and failure to do so could result in a fine of up to £20,000 and/or possible imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months. It is the responsibility of local authorities to enforce compliance with the register in their local areas.
We remain committed to considering how the register could be improved, including by imposing possible further conditions on registration, in order to support our public health aim of reducing the use of tobacco and vapes.