The Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 (Commencement No. 1, Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2026 - Business Regulatory Impact Assessment

Section 2: Engagement and information gathering

Engagement approach

To develop the 2026 Act, Scotland took part in a 4 nation consultation on Creating a Smoke Free Generation and Tackling Youth Vaping, covering policies such as the smoke free generation, and the prohibition of the advertising of vapes and nicotine products. The response to the consultation can be found here: Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping: your views - GOV.UK.

As set out in the impact assessment for the 2026 Act, in engagement exercises with retailers it was stated repeatedly by retailer representative bodies that the main consideration for them was adequate lead in times and guidance, both of which will be provided in order to mitigate impact. These regulations are designed to ensure that while most of the register changes will come into force 6 months after Royal Assent, the related offences for failing to register will not be commenced until 6 months later.

In terms of the commencement of the extension of the register, there has been engagement with the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards Scotland (SCOTSS), who represent the views of Local Authority Trading Standards Officers.

The policy team have also presented this approach to commencement to the Regulatory Review Group (RRG) within Scottish Government, as well as the Retail Industry Leadership Group, to take their views on timings for commencement and the impact on business and local authorities. The RRG raised no specific concerns on the commencement dates, but have noted that retailers need to be made aware of the upcoming changes to the register and the sanctions for non-compliance.

Scottish Government officials plan to continue close engagement with the RRG and SCOTSS, alongside retail trade associations, as the remainder of the 2026 Act is implemented, including the provision of guidance to support the transition.

Scottish Government officials have also worked closely with ePass, who developed the platform that the Tobacco and Vapes Register sits on, to create an accessible and simple process for retailers to register to sell nicotine products and herbal smoking products. This will help to reduce the impact on retailers registering to sell additional products.

Retailers who need additional support will be able to request this through the support function on the register platform.

Internal SG engagement/ engagement with wider Public Sector

Internal SG engagement

As part of the policy development cycle policy officials also engaged with retail policy colleagues within Scottish Government on the proposed approach and on plans for external engagement with retailers over implementation.

UK/ Devolved Administrations

Scotland is the only country across the four nations with a Tobacco and Vaping Register.

Wider Public Sector

As above, officials have engaged with SCOTSS, COSLA and Trading Standards on the commencement period for the regulations, as well as transitional and savings provisions. They have no significant concerns with the preferred approach to commencement.

International

No engagement with international stakeholders has taken place on the commencement regulations.

Business / Third Sector engagement

Officials have engaged with the RRG and Retail Industry Leadership Group as set out above, who contain representatives from the retail sector and local authorities. They have raised no significant issues with the preferred approach, although some stakeholders did support an accelerated approach to implementation provided that there was sufficient support and guidance for business to comply with requirements.

Officials will continue to engage with businesses as guidance is developed to support the transition during the commencement period.

Public consultation

There was a UK-Wide public consultation to support the development of the 2026 Act, which covered policies related to age restrictions for nicotine products and the expansion of tobacco policies to herbal smoking products.

Other stakeholders

N/A