Northern Ireland Guidance - Tobacco, vaping and nicotine products: vending machine ban

Summary

From 29 October 2026, it will be an offence for a person with management or control of premises to have a vending machine on the premises:

• from which customers can buy any of the products in scope
• that dispenses any of these products to a customer as part of a sale, even if payment does not take place at the machine

The products in scope are:

• tobacco products
• herbal smoking products
• cigarette papers
• vaping products
• nicotine products 

This guidance explains the ban on these types of vending machines.

This guidance is mainly for anyone who has management or control of premises where a vending machine stocks the products listed above. It may also be useful for:

• relevant enforcement authorities
• wholesalers
• business owners
• people who use these products

Products in scope

The products in scope of the vending machine offences from 29 October 2026 are:

• tobacco products
•  herbal smoking products
•  cigarette papers
•  vaping products
•  nicotine products

For tobacco products, this includes but is not limited to:

• cigarettes
• hand rolling tobacco
• cigars
• cigarillos
• pipe tobacco
• waterpipe tobacco, such as shisha
• nasal tobacco, commonly known as snuff
• chewing tobacco
• heated tobacco
• tobacco blunts

For herbal smoking products, this includes but is not limited to:

• herbal blunts
• herbal cigarettes
• herbal shisha

For vaping products, this includes but is not limited to:

• vape devices, such as vape pens
• substances to be vaped, such as e-liquid
• related components, such as coils

For nicotine products, this includes but is not limited to:

• nicotine pouches (tobacco-free pouches containing a nicotine powder that are placed between the gum and lip)
• nicotine strips (dissolvable films containing nicotine that are placed on the tongue or between the gum and lip)
• nicotine pearls (small dissolvable balls containing nicotine that dissolve under the tongue)

All types of nicotine are included in the scope, including synthetic nicotine produced in a lab, rather than extracted from plants.

The restrictions do not apply to:

• components such as batteries, charging devices and electrical leads (these products are covered by wider consumer protection and safety legislation)
• medical devices
• medicinal products

From 29 October 2026, the ban replaces existing restrictions on vending machines selling products in scope. 

Machines in scope

The ban covers:

• machines from which customers can buy any of the products in scope
• machines that dispense any of these products to a customer as part of a sale, even if payment does not take place at the machine

This means that a vending machine can be used as secure storage, as long as it is not used to sell or dispense products to customers.

For example, a vending machine would be allowed if it is used to dispense products to a staff member only (not directly to the customer) where they are handling a sale to a customer (not for the staff member’s personal use).

For further information on the tobacco, and herbal smoking products and cigarette paper vending machine ban see article 4B of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/1978/1907/contents ) (available from 29 October 2026).

For further information on the vaping and nicotine product vending machine ban see article 4J of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/1978/1907/contents ) (available from 29 October 2026).

Responsibility for vending machine compliance

The person with management or control of the premises is responsible for complying with the vending machine ban. The owner of the machine is not responsible for compliance, unless they also have management or control of the premises.

If the person with management or control of the premises wants to remove a vending machine, they should contact the machine’s owner or operator to agree appropriate arrangements.

Alternatively, the person with management or control of the premises may relocate a banned vending machine to an area that is inaccessible to customers. For more information, see the ‘Machines in scope’ section.

Enforcement

A person who commits a vending machine offence can receive a fine on summary conviction. A summary conviction is a finding or plea of guilt for a crime in a magistrates’ court, of which the fine can be up to level 5 on the standard scale (currently £5,000). For more information about standard scales, see: The Fines and Penalties (Northern Ireland) Order 1984 www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/1984/703/contents 

Subject to Regulations specifying the Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) amount being made, a person can receive a £250 FPN for committing this offence.

For further information on FPNs, see the Northern Ireland guidance ‘Tobacco, vaping and nicotine products: fixed penalty notices’.

It will be for the relevant local council to enforce this ban.  If you suspect that a premises is operating with a vending machine that dispenses any of the listed products, contact your local council at https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/contacts/local-councils-in-northern-ireland