2026 No. 210 (C. 22)
PUBLIC HEALTH

The Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 (Commencement No. 1, Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2026

Made
Laid before the Scottish Parliament
Coming into force
The Scottish Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 175(7)(b), 175(9) and 177(2)(a) of the Tobacco and Vapes Act 20261 and all other powers enabling them to do so.

Citation, commencement and interpretation1.

(1)

These Regulations may be cited as the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 (Commencement No. 1, Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2026 and come into force on 29 October 2026.

(2)

In these Regulations—

“the 2010 Act” means the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 20102,

“the Act” means the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026.

Appointed days2.

(1)

Except as provided by paragraph (2), section 69 and schedule 9 (extension of retailer register etc) of the Act come into force on 29 October 2026 immediately after the coming into force of section 68 and schedule 8 (alignment of definition of “vaping product”) of the Act 3.

(2)

Paragraph 15(a), (b) and (d) of schedule 9 of the Act come into force on 29 April 2027.

Transitional and saving provisions3.

(1)

Any application for a tobacco and vaping product banning order4 under section 155 of the 2010 Act which is made, but not determined, before 29 October 2026 is to be treated as an application for a banning order referred to in section 15 of the 2010 Act6.

(2)

Paragraphs (3) to (5) apply where a tobacco and vaping product banning order (being an order made under section 15 of the 2010 Act before 29 October 2026) has effect in respect of a person.

(3)

Each reference to a “banning order” in the following sections of the 2010 Act is to be read as including a reference to a “tobacco and vaping product banning order”—

(a)

section 11(3)(b) (application for registration and addition of premises etc.)7,

(b)

section 14(2) (changes to and removal from Register)8,

(c)

section 16(1)(b) (ancillary orders)9,

(d)

section 16(4),

(e)

section 16(5),

(f)

section 17(1) (appeals)10,

(g)

section 17(3),

(h)

section 20(4) (offences relating to the Register)11.

(4)

Where the order referred to in section 16(1)(b) of the 2010 Act is a tobacco and vaping product banning order, section 16(2) of the 2010 Act continues to have effect as if the amendments made by paragraph 11 of schedule 9 of the Act had not been made.

(5)

Section 19 (display of notices)12 of the 2010 Act continues to have effect in respect of the tobacco and vaping product banning order as if the amendments made by paragraph 14 of schedule 9 of the Act had not been made.

(6)

Subject to paragraph (7), the definition of “tobacco or vaping product business” in section 35(1) (interpretation of Part 1)13 of the 2010 Act continues to have effect for each of the following purposes—

(a)

for the purpose of section 20(1) of the 2010 Act, and

(b)

insofar as necessary to give effect to paragraphs (2) to (5) of this regulation.

(7)

Paragraph (6)(a) applies until 29 April 2027.

ALISON THEWLISS
Authorised to sign by the Scottish Ministers

St Andrew’s House,

Edinburgh

Explanatory Note
(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision for the coming into force of section 69 and schedule 9 of the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 (“the Act”). Schedule 9 contains amendments to the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”) for the purposes of extending Chapter 2 (register of tobacco and vaping product retailers) of Part 1 of that Act so that retailers selling herbal smoking products and nicotine products are subject to the same registration requirements as retailers who sell tobacco and vaping products. Once the amendments referred to in regulation 2(1) take effect, tobacco businesses, herbal smoking product businesses, vaping product businesses and nicotine product businesses will all be “registrable businesses” and the council will have the power to apply to the sheriff for a “banning order” instead of a “tobacco and vaping product banning order”. A banning order is an order banning a person from carrying on a registrable business from premises within the council’s area.

The provisions in section 69 and schedule 9 come into force on 29 October 2026. The exception is the amendments in paragraph 15(a), (b) and (d) of schedule 9 which are amendments to registration offence provisions in section 20(1), (2), (2A) and (6)(a) of the 2010 Act. These amendments come into force 6 months later meaning that businesses will have 6 months from the date the extended register is active to register herbal smoking product businesses and nicotine product businesses.

Transitional and saving provisions are made to clarify the effect of the law for undetermined applications for tobacco and vaping product banning orders, for ancillary orders and for tobacco and vaping product banning orders which were made before 29 October 2026. In particular, regulation 3(1) means that an undetermined application for a tobacco and vaping product banning order will be converted to an application for a banning order.  The definition of “tobacco or vaping product business” is saved for the purpose of the transitional and saving provisions in regulation 3(2) to (5) and also for the offence in 20(1) of the 2010 Act of being an unregistered person who carries on a tobacco or nicotine vapour product business. The definition is saved for the purpose of section 20(1) of the 2010 Act until 29 April 2027 which is when the amendment to section 20(1) comes into force by virtue of regulation 2(2).