Extending Existing and Planned Smoke-free Premises into Vape-free Public Spaces in Wales

Wales has implemented some of the most comprehensive smoke-free legislation in the UK, extending protections from second-hand smoke (SHS) beyond enclosed public places and workplaces into settings used by children, families and the wider public. This reflects a broader shift towards creating environments where being smoke-free is the social norm and future generations can live free from
tobacco. The Tobacco and Vapes Act enables consideration of extending vape-free requirements to additional outdoor public settings. This creates an opportunity for Wales to incorporate vaping into existing and future smoke-free restrictions, particularly in settings used by children, young people and other potentially vulnerable groups.

Welsh smoke-free legislation does not currently include vape-free requirements, leaving decisions about where vaping is permitted to individual organisations, landowners and service providers. While vaping can support smoking cessation and reduce harm among adults who smoke, concerns remain about youth uptake and nicotine dependence, second-hand aerosol exposure, the normalisation of
nicotine use, and compliance with smoke-free policies. Future policy must therefore balance the role of vaping in harm reduction with protecting vulnerable groups and preventing nicotine uptake and normalisation among children and young people.

This briefing should be read alongside the Public Health Wales policy briefing (2026), Extending Smoke free Outdoor Spaces in Wales: Opportunities through the Tobacco and Vapes Act. Whereas the accompanying briefing focuses on the rationale and evidence for extending smoke-free requirements to additional outdoor public settings, this briefing examines the case for incorporating vape-free requirements within existing and future smoke-free environments. It summarises the available evidence on public health impacts, implementation considerations, equity implications and policy options associated with extending vape-free requirements across indoor and outdoor public spaces in Wales. Its purpose is to support evidence -informed policy development that protects population health whilst maintaining support for smoking cessation and Wales’s long-term ambition of achieving a smoke-free Wales by 2030.