Zero nicotine vaping means using an e-liquid or shortfill mixed with 0mg of nicotine, so you get the same vapour, flavour and hand-to-mouth habit without a nicotine hit. In UK law, 0mg e-liquid is not a nicotine-containing product, so it sits outside the 20mg/ml, 2ml and 10ml nicotine limits. It is not outside the new Vaping Products Duty, though. From 1 October 2026, HMRC charges £2.20 per 10ml on vaping liquid whether or not it contains nicotine, and that includes every 0mg shortfill and 0mg bottle on the shelf.
What Is Zero Nicotine Vaping? 0mg E-Liquid Explained
Zero nicotine vaping, usually written as 0mg vaping or 0mg e-liquid, is vaping a liquid made from propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerine (VG) and flavouring, with no nicotine added at any point. It looks, pours and vapes exactly like nicotine e-liquid, producing vapour from the same PG/VG base. The only thing missing is the nicotine molecule itself.
You can buy 0mg liquid in two main formats. The first is a standard 10ml bottle, the same format used for nicotine e-liquid, just filled to 0mg instead of up to the 20mg legal maximum. The second is a shortfill, a bigger bottle of 50ml, 60ml or 100ml, almost always sold at 0mg by default because the law that caps nicotine-containing bottles at 10ml does not apply to a bottle with no nicotine in it. Eco Vapours stocks both formats across the e-liquids collection, including shortfills at 0mg alongside ready-mixed nic salts and TPD 10ml bottles.
0mg e-liquid works in any device built for prefilled pod kits, rechargeable pod systems or refillable tanks. Since the UK's single-use vapes ban took effect on 1 June 2025, every legally sold device is a rechargeable or refillable pod kit, and every one of them runs 0mg liquid exactly as well as nicotine liquid, with zero change to the coil, wattage or airflow setup.
Is 0mg Vaping Legal in the UK? Why Zero Nicotine E-Liquid Sits Outside the Nicotine Cap
Yes, 0mg vaping is legal in the UK, for adults 18 and over. The reason it behaves so differently to nicotine e-liquid on the shelf comes down to how the law is written, not to 0mg products being unregulated.
The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 set three hard limits on nicotine-containing e-cigarette liquid, under Regulation 36. Nicotine strength is capped at 20mg per ml. Any refillable tank or pod is capped at 2ml of capacity. Any single retail bottle of nicotine liquid is capped at 10ml. You can read the exact wording in Part 6 of the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 on legislation.gov.uk.
All three limits are written to apply specifically to liquid that contains nicotine. 0mg e-liquid, by definition, contains none. So it's not bound by the 20mg/ml ceiling, because there's nothing to cap. It's not bound by the 2ml tank rule in the way a nicotine pod is, because that rule governs the nicotine liquid in the tank, not the tank itself. And it's not bound by the 10ml bottle limit, which is exactly why a 100ml 0mg shortfill bottle is a completely normal, legal product, where a 100ml bottle of 3mg nicotine e-liquid would not be.
That does not mean 0mg liquid is a free-for-all. General consumer product safety law still applies, including labelling, child-resistant packaging and ingredient safety rules that sit outside the nicotine-specific TPD provisions. HMRC's own guidance on handling wholesale or retail vaping products in the UK treats vaping liquid, with or without nicotine, as a single regulated category for these wider purposes. What changes with nicotine content is the specific TPD strength and volume caps, not whether the product is regulated at all.
Does the New Vaping Products Duty Apply to 0mg E-Liquid?
Yes, and this is the single fact most 0mg vaping content in the UK gets wrong or simply skips. From 1 October 2026, HMRC's new Vaping Products Duty charges a flat rate of £2.20 per 10ml on vaping liquid. HMRC states plainly, in its guidance on how to pay Vaping Products Duty, that the duty "applies whether or not the liquid contains nicotine." Registrations for businesses that manufacture, import or store this liquid opened on 1 April 2026, and the duty itself starts from 1 October 2026, confirmed in the government's Vaping Products Duty policy paper.
Compare that with the TPD nicotine cap covered above. The 20mg, 2ml and 10ml limits only ever applied to nicotine liquid, so 0mg products were always outside them. The Vaping Products Duty is built differently on purpose: it's charged per 10ml of vaping liquid, full stop, with no nicotine test at all. A 100ml 0mg shortfill and a 100ml bottle of full-strength nic salts liquid both attract exactly £22.00 of duty.
Several UK vape retailers still publish 0mg buying guides written before this scope was confirmed, framing zero nicotine liquid as the "tax-free" option because it isn't a nicotine product. That is no longer accurate. Buy 0mg shortfills or bottles from October 2026 onward and expect the shelf price to reflect the same £2.20-per-10ml duty as every other vaping liquid next to it, nicotine or not.
How 0mg Shortfill E-Liquid Works: Mixing Nic Shots Into Zero Nicotine Base
Shortfill bottles exist because of the 10ml nicotine bottle cap covered above. A retailer cannot legally sell you a 100ml bottle already containing nicotine. What they can sell you is a 100ml bottle of 0mg base, filled "short" of the top to leave room, plus a separate 10ml nic shot, itself a small nicotine-containing bottle within the legal 10ml limit. You add the shot at home, shake it, and the two combine into one nicotine-containing liquid.
The maths behind the standard nic shot explains why shots are sold at 18mg. A single 10ml shot at 18mg/ml added to a 50ml 0mg shortfill gives 60ml of liquid in total. Nicotine content: 10ml × 18mg = 180mg spread across 60ml, working out at 3mg/ml, a common low starter strength. Add two 10ml shots (20ml) to a 100ml shortfill and you get 120ml at the same 3mg/ml, because 20ml × 18mg = 360mg spread across 120ml. Eco Vapours' Get Slushed 100ml shortfill is a working example: a 100ml bottle of high-VG base in a 120ml bottle, with room for up to two shots, sold at 0mg as standard.
Plenty of shortfill buyers never add a shot at all. If you like the flavour and vapour but don't want nicotine, you simply vape the 0mg base as it comes, using exactly the same bottle you'd otherwise mix into a 3mg or 5mg e-liquid. It's one of the most common ways UK vapers land on 0mg without buying a product specifically labelled "nicotine-free."
Who Actually Buys Zero Nicotine Vape Juice? Four 0mg Vaper Profiles
Most UK content on 0mg vaping treats it as a single, vague category. In practice, four distinct groups buy zero nicotine vape juice, for different reasons, in different formats.
Stepping Down: Vapers Reducing Nicotine Strength to 0mg
This is the largest group. Someone who started on 20mg nic salts, or a 12mg or 6mg freebase e-liquid, gradually reduces their strength over weeks or months, moving from 20mg to 12mg to 6mg to 3mg, and eventually to 0mg. This is a personal process, not a medical treatment, and how quickly (or whether) someone does it varies a great deal between individuals. By the time they reach 0mg they've usually kept the same device and flavour family throughout, just diluting the nicotine content down to nothing.
Habit Only Vapers Who Choose 0mg E-Liquid Without Nicotine
Some vapers simply like the ritual, the flavour and the hand-to-mouth action, without wanting a nicotine hit at all. This includes people who never smoked but enjoy vaping socially, and long-term vapers who've stepped down and stayed at 0mg for the taste alone. Eco Vapours' Cookie King 100ml shortfill, a dessert-flavoured 70VG/30PG blend, is a typical pick for this group when vaped straight at 0mg, no shot added.
Shortfill Mixers Who Blend Their Own Custom Strength With 0mg Base
This group buys 0mg shortfills as raw material, adding one or two nic shots themselves to land on a strength that isn't sold ready-mixed, commonly 3mg or 5mg. Ready-mixed 10ml bottles in the UK are typically available at 3mg, 6mg, 12mg and 18mg for freebase and 10mg and 20mg for nic salts, so mixing your own from a 0mg base is often the only way to hit an in-between number across a bigger bottle. The Horny Flava 65ml shortfill is built for exactly this, sold at 0mg with headroom for a shot.
Social and Occasional Vapers Choosing 0mg Vape Juice
The fourth group vapes only occasionally, at social events or as a substitute for a cigarette in situations where they'd rather not have one, without wanting a regular nicotine intake. For this group, 0mg avoids an occasional habit turning into a daily nicotine one, and a rechargeable pod kit loaded with a 0mg pod or a small 0mg bottle is the typical setup.
0mg vs Nicotine E-Liquid: What Actually Changes When You Remove Nicotine
The table below sets out what differs between 0mg and nicotine e-liquid under UK rules, since the 2026 duty changes what most people assume about the two.
| Feature | 0mg e-liquid | Nicotine e-liquid |
|---|---|---|
| Nicotine content | 0mg/ml by definition | Up to 20mg/ml (legal maximum, Regulation 36) |
| Max bottle size | No TPD nicotine cap, commonly sold at 50ml, 60ml or 100ml | 10ml maximum per retail bottle |
| Max tank/pod fill | Not bound by the 2ml nicotine tank rule | 2ml maximum in any refillable tank or pod |
| Vaping Products Duty from 1 Oct 2026 | Yes, £2.20 per 10ml, same as nicotine liquid | Yes, £2.20 per 10ml |
| Throat hit / craving relief | None, no nicotine delivered | Present, scales with mg strength |
| Typical buyer | Steppers down, habit only vapers, shortfill mixers, social vapers | Smokers switching, established vapers maintaining strength |
| Contains nicotine, which is addictive | No | Yes, contains nicotine, a highly addictive substance |
Zero Nicotine Vaping Cost: What 0mg Shortfill Costs After the Vaping Products Duty
Because the Vaping Products Duty is charged per 10ml regardless of nicotine content, the arithmetic is the same whether you're pricing a 0mg shortfill or a nic salts bottle, and it's worth doing in full, since almost nobody publishes it for the 0mg side specifically.
| Scenario | Volume | Duty at £2.20 per 10ml | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100ml 0mg shortfill, no shot added | 100ml | £22.00 | Full duty applies even though there's no nicotine in the bottle |
| 50ml 0mg shortfill + one 10ml nic shot | 60ml final liquid | £11.00 (shortfill) + £2.20 (shot) = £13.20 | Duty is charged on both bottles separately, at the point they're liable |
| Six 10ml bottles of ready mixed 3mg freebase | 60ml final liquid | 6 × £2.20 = £13.20 | Same total duty as the shortfill plus shot route above, for the same 60ml at roughly the same strength |
| 50ml 0mg shortfill only, no shot | 50ml | £11.00 | The lowest duty route to 50ml of usable 0mg vape juice |
The takeaway: duty is genuinely volume-based, not nicotine-based and not format-based. Buying a bigger 0mg shortfill, such as Eco Vapours' Judge Jam 50ml shortfill, and choosing not to add a shot, doesn't dodge the duty, it means paying £11.00 of duty on 50ml of liquid vaped at 0mg rather than at a nicotine strength. What the duty changes is the assumption that 0mg was ever going to be cheaper purely because it's nicotine-free. From 1 October 2026, it isn't, on the duty component at least.
Which 0mg E-Liquid Format Suits You? A Zero Nicotine Vaping Suitability Matrix
| Vaper profile | Recommended 0mg format | Why | Who it's wrong for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stepping down from 6mg or 3mg | 0mg 10ml bottle or 0mg shortfill, same flavour as before | Keeps the habit and flavour constant while removing nicotine, so the change is easier to notice and adjust to | Anyone still finding 3mg unsatisfying, jumping straight to 0mg from there often just means going back to cigarettes for nicotine |
| Habit only, never smoked or long stopped wanting nicotine | 0mg shortfill in a flavour they enjoy, vaped straight | No nicotine intake at all, lowest cost per ml before duty since no shot is needed | An ex-smoker still using vaping specifically to manage smoking urges, 0mg will not do that job |
| Custom low strength mixer wanting 3mg or 5mg | 0mg shortfill plus one or two 10ml nic shots | Reaches strengths not sold ready mixed, across a bigger bottle than the 10ml nicotine cap allows in one go | Anyone who does not want to measure and mix at home, buy ready mixed nic salts instead |
| Heavy smoker who has just switched (20 a day plus) | Not 0mg, 12mg to 20mg nic salts | 0mg delivers no nicotine, so cravings go unmet in the first weeks after switching | This is the profile 0mg is consistently wrong for, see the section below |
| Occasional or social vaper | Small 0mg bottle or pod, low volume purchase | Avoids building a daily nicotine habit from what is meant to be occasional use | A daily vaper buying small pods repeatedly, cost per ml is worse than a shortfill |
Zero Nicotine Vaping for Stepping Down From Higher Nicotine Strengths
The most common real-world route to 0mg starts with a specific number, not a general intention. Someone using 20mg nic salts daily might drop to 12mg after a few weeks, feel the throat hit soften but the habit stay satisfying, then move to 6mg, then 3mg, then eventually try a 0mg bottle in the same flavour they've been using throughout. This is a personal process with no fixed timeline, and how it plays out varies a great deal from one person to the next.
A different, common scenario: a long-term shortfill mixer who's added one nic shot to a 50ml bottle for 3mg for over a year decides to try a batch with no shot at all, testing whether they still want the nicotine or whether the flavour and ritual are enough on their own. Because the base liquid, device and flavour stay identical, it's a low-friction way to find out.
A third scenario: someone who vapes daily at work but doesn't want a nicotine habit outside those hours keeps a 0mg pod loaded for evenings and weekends, and a nicotine pod for work stress. Same device, two strengths, kept deliberately separate. None of these scenarios involve buying anything new beyond a bottle of 0mg liquid, which is why 0mg vape juice sells alongside every nicotine strength rather than as a separate, niche product line.
Who Zero Nicotine Vaping Isn't For
Zero nicotine vaping isn't for someone who has just stopped smoking cigarettes and is still experiencing nicotine cravings. If you were smoking 20 cigarettes a day last week, a 0mg vape delivers none of the nicotine your body is used to, and the likely outcome is frustration, chain-vaping in an attempt to get a hit that isn't there, or going back to cigarettes altogether. For that profile, a 12mg to 20mg nic salt liquid is the realistic starting point, not 0mg.
It also isn't the right choice for anyone buying it under the impression it's a cheaper, duty-free option purely because it has no nicotine. As covered above, that stopped being true from 1 October 2026, since the £2.20-per-10ml duty applies to 0mg liquid exactly as it does to nicotine liquid.
And it's not for anyone expecting 0mg vaping to replicate the throat hit of a cigarette or a strong nic salt. Nicotine, not the PG/VG vapour itself, produces that sensation, so a 0mg liquid feels noticeably softer even in an identical device and flavour. If throat hit is what you're chasing, 0mg will disappoint you.
0mg E-Liquid Alternatives: Low Nic Salts, Nic Shots and Freebase Compared to Zero Nicotine Vaping
0mg isn't the only route to a lighter vape. Three alternatives are worth naming honestly, including where 0mg loses out.
Low-strength nic salts. At Eco Vapours, the nic salts collection runs from 0mg up to the UK legal maximum of 20mg, with 10mg and 20mg the two most widely stocked strengths. For someone who wants a nicotine hit but a milder one than 20mg, a 10mg nic salt is often a better fit than going straight to 0mg, delivering a smooth dose without the harsher throat hit of a high-strength freebase liquid.
Freebase e-liquid at 3mg or 6mg. Standard 10ml freebase bottles commonly come in 3mg and 6mg strengths as well as 0mg, giving a low but non-zero nicotine option without any mixing required. This suits someone who wants to taper gradually but finds measuring nic shots into a shortfill fiddly.
Nic shots for DIY mixing. Buying 10ml nic shots separately and adding them to a 0mg shortfill, as covered in the mechanics section above, is the cheapest way to reach a custom strength across a larger bottle, and the only route to strengths that aren't sold ready-mixed, such as an exact 3mg or 5mg. Where it loses to 0mg directly: if you don't want any nicotine at all, buying shots and not using them is simply an unnecessary cost, so a straight 0mg shortfill remains the right call.
Mistakes People Make When Buying or Mixing 0mg E-Liquid
Four mistakes come up repeatedly around 0mg e-liquid, all of them avoidable.
Assuming 0mg is duty-free. As covered above, it isn't from 1 October 2026. Budgeting for 0mg shortfills as if they'll stay at pre-duty prices is the most common miscalculation this article exists to correct.
Over-shotting a shortfill. Adding more nic shots than the bottle is designed for can push the final strength above what's comfortable, and in extreme cases close to the 20mg/ml legal maximum. Always check the bottle's stated headroom, usually one or two 10ml shots, before adding anything.
Losing track of which bottle is which. Once a nic shot is added to a 0mg shortfill, the contents become a nicotine-containing liquid and should be labelled and stored as such, kept away from children and pets exactly like any other nicotine e-liquid. A mixed bottle left unlabelled next to a genuinely 0mg one is a real, avoidable hazard in a household with both types in use.
Buying 0mg on the assumption it changes the vaping experience less than it does. Removing nicotine removes the throat hit, and some vapers respond by vaping more often or drawing harder, chasing a sensation a 0mg liquid can't provide. If that happens, it's usually a sign 0mg was chosen too early in a step-down, and a slightly higher strength for a few more weeks is the more comfortable route.
Zero Nicotine Vaping Myths: What UK Vapers Get Wrong About 0mg E-Liquid
Myth: 0mg e-liquid is duty-free. Wrong, from 1 October 2026. HMRC's own wording is that the Vaping Products Duty "applies whether or not the liquid contains nicotine." A 0mg bottle owes exactly the same £2.20 per 10ml as a nicotine one.
Myth: 0mg e-liquid is unregulated. Also wrong. It sits outside the specific 20mg/2ml/10ml nicotine caps in the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016, but general consumer product safety and labelling law still applies, and it's still liable for the new duty.
Myth: any shortfill is automatically 0mg forever. Only until a nic shot is added. Shortfills are sold at 0mg by default because of the 10ml nicotine bottle cap, not because they're a different product category. Add a shot and the whole bottle becomes nicotine-containing liquid.
Myth: 0mg vaping feels the same as nicotine vaping, minus the "addictive bit." The throat hit itself comes from nicotine. Take it away and the sensation changes noticeably, even with an identical flavour and device, which is why some vapers who try 0mg too early in a step-down find it unsatisfying and go back up a strength.
Is Zero Nicotine Vaping Worth It? Our Verdict on 0mg E-Liquid
Our view: 0mg vaping is a legitimate choice for three of the four buyer profiles in this guide, steppers-down who've already worked their way most of the way to zero, habit-only vapers who never wanted the nicotine in the first place, and shortfill mixers using it as the base for their own custom strength. For those groups, 0mg does exactly what it says, with no nicotine delivered and no change beyond the missing throat hit.
We wouldn't recommend it as a starting point for someone who has only just switched from smoking. Cravings need managing with actual nicotine in the early weeks, and 0mg doesn't do that job. And from 1 October 2026, don't buy 0mg because you think it will be cheaper than nicotine e-liquid on account of the duty. It won't be. The duty is charged on volume, not on nicotine content.
Zero Nicotine Vaping FAQ
Q1 Is 0mg vape juice legal in the UK?
Yes. 0mg e-liquid is legal for sale to adults 18 and over. It falls outside the specific 20mg/ml, 2ml tank and 10ml bottle limits set for nicotine-containing liquid under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016, because those limits apply only to liquid that contains nicotine.
Q2 Does 0mg e-liquid have any nicotine in it at all?
No. Genuine 0mg e-liquid contains no nicotine. It's made from the same PG/VG base and flavourings as nicotine e-liquid, with nicotine simply left out of the formulation.
Q3 Will 0mg vaping be taxed under the new Vaping Products Duty?
Yes. From 1 October 2026, HMRC charges £2.20 per 10ml of vaping liquid, and this applies whether or not the liquid contains nicotine. 0mg shortfills and bottles are liable for the same duty as nicotine e-liquid.
Q4 Why are shortfill bottles sold at 0mg by default?
Because UK law caps any single bottle of nicotine-containing liquid at 10ml. Shortfills come in 50ml, 60ml or 100ml sizes, well above that limit, so they're sold at 0mg with room for a separate 10ml nic shot, which is what actually adds the nicotine.
Q5 What strength do you get from adding one nic shot to a 0mg shortfill?
A standard 10ml nic shot at 18mg/ml added to a 50ml 0mg shortfill gives 60ml of liquid at roughly 3mg/ml. The same shot added to a 100ml shortfill, alongside a second shot, gives 120ml at the same 3mg/ml.
Q6 Can I vape a shortfill at 0mg without adding a nic shot?
Yes. Plenty of buyers use shortfills purely at 0mg, never adding a shot at all. The bottle works exactly the same either way, the shot is optional, not compulsory.
Q7 Is nicotine-free vaping suitable for someone who has just quit smoking?
Generally not as a starting point. Someone who has just stopped smoking is usually still experiencing nicotine cravings, and 0mg e-liquid delivers none, so it doesn't address that. A nic salt strength between 12mg and 20mg is the more realistic starting point, with a gradual step-down to lower strengths, and eventually 0mg, over time if that's the individual's own choice.
Q8 Does 0mg vaping still deliver a throat hit?
No, or only a very mild one from the PG itself. The throat hit most vapers associate with vaping comes from nicotine, so removing it noticeably softens the sensation, even in an identical flavour and device.
Q9 What's the difference between 0mg vaping and vaping nic salts?
0mg e-liquid contains no nicotine at all. Nic salts are a nicotine formulation, typically sold at 10mg or 20mg in the UK, designed to deliver nicotine smoothly at higher strengths than standard freebase liquid. They're aimed at different buyers: 0mg suits steppers-down and habit-only vapers, nic salts suit smokers switching or maintaining an established nicotine intake.
Q10 Are 0mg vapes cheaper than nicotine vapes after the 2026 duty change?
Not on the duty component. The £2.20-per-10ml Vaping Products Duty applies equally to 0mg and nicotine liquid, so a 0mg shortfill and a nicotine one of the same size carry identical duty from 1 October 2026.