Every industry has a version of the upgrade cycle. Phones get replaced every two to three years. Laptops every four to five. Cars every seven to ten UK disposable vape ban. The trigger is usually a mix of wear, desire, and the slow realisation that newer products do the job noticeably better.
Vaping never had an upgrade cycle. Disposables were single-use by definition. You didn’t upgrade a disposable vape any more than you upgraded a paper cup. You used it and threw it away. The concept of moving up the product ladder didn’t apply because there was no ladder. Just a flat surface of identical, temporary products.
The ban on 1 June 2025 built that ladder overnight.
The Accidental Product Ladder
When disposables vanished, most former users went straight to prefilled pod kits. Simple, familiar, minimal learning curve. That was the expected behaviour, and it played out exactly as predicted.
What wasn’t predicted was how quickly a portion of those users started climbing. Three months into using a prefilled kit, a meaningful percentage started asking questions. What if I could choose my own flavours? What if the battery lasted longer? What if the vapour was warmer, denser, more satisfying? What if I had control over the airflow?
Those questions lead in one direction. Towards vape mods.
Vape mods have existed for over a decade. They were always the enthusiast end of the market. Adjustable wattage. Replaceable batteries. External tanks with swappable coils. Temperature control modes. For the average disposable user, mods were intimidating and unnecessary. Like giving someone who drives a Fiat 500 the keys to a McLaren.
But the disposable ban changed the starting point. People who would never have considered a mod are now six months into using refillable kits. They’ve already learned to fill a pod. They’ve already changed a coil. They’ve already bought e-liquid and figured out nicotine strengths. The gap between their current knowledge and what a mod requires has shrunk considerably UK disposable ban.
The Numbers Tell the Story
UK search data for “vape mods” and related terms has climbed steadily through the second half of 2025. The keyword “vape mods uk” specifically has been moving up in search rankings for several retailers, and the competition for page one positions is tighter than it’s been in years.
This isn’t nostalgia driving the interest. It’s not veteran vapers upgrading their existing mods. The search behaviour patterns suggest new entrants to the category. Questions like “what is a vape mod” and “vape mod for beginners” are increasing alongside the commercial terms. People are researching a product type they’ve never used before, which means the market is expanding rather than churning.
For retailers, this creates a specific opportunity. Mod buyers spend more per transaction. The kit costs more. The accessories cost more. Replacement coils, tanks, batteries, and external chargers. The basket value for a mod customer is substantially higher than for someone buying prefilled pods. And the product lifecycle is longer. People keep mods for months or years, replacing consumables rather than the entire kit.
Why Mods Survived the Disposable Era
There was a period between 2021 and 2024 when many in the industry thought mods were dying. Disposables dominated the market so completely that retailers reduced shelf space for mod hardware. Online retailers pushed pod kits and disposables in their marketing. Mod manufacturers saw sales flatten or decline.
What kept the mod category alive was a core user base that valued something disposables couldn’t offer. Control. A mod lets you adjust how the vape feels. More wattage for a warmer hit. Less wattage for a cooler draw. Different coil resistances for different liquid types. Temperature limits to prevent dry hits. These aren’t gimmicks. For experienced vapers, they’re the difference between a good experience and a mediocre one.
That core base never left. They kept buying, kept upgrading, kept supporting the manufacturers who continued making mod hardware. And now, with a wave of former disposable users climbing the product ladder, the investment those manufacturers made in staying relevant is paying off.
The Management Challenge for Retailers
Stocking mods is harder than stocking prefilled pods. The product range is wider. Compatibility matters. A customer buying a GeekVape Aegis needs specific coils for that specific tank. Wrong coils, wrong kit. Customer service enquiries increase. Returns increase. The operational complexity per sale is higher.
As Management Works Media has covered in its analysis of how businesses manage product complexity, the companies that handle complex product catalogues well are the ones that invest in information architecture. In vaping, that means clear compatibility guides, good filtering on product pages, and staff who know which coil fits which tank. The retailers who treat mods as just another product line without adapting their operations will struggle with the customer service burden.
Online retailers have an advantage here. Product pages can include compatibility tables. Filters can narrow results by kit brand and model. Recommendations can surface the right coils alongside the right tank. Physical shops have to rely on staff knowledge, which varies enormously.
What the Tax Means for Mods
The October 2026 excise duty on e-liquids is going to push more people towards mods, not fewer. Here’s why.
Mods work with larger bottles of e-liquid. Typically, 50ml or 100ml shortfills that you add a nicotine shot to. The tax applies per 10ml, so the absolute cost increase is the same regardless of bottle size. But the per-puff cost on a mod running a sub-ohm tank is already lower than any prefilled pod system. The tax widens the gap slightly in favour of mods because the efficiency advantage compounds.
For cost-conscious vapers doing the maths after October 2026, mods become even more attractive on a pure value basis. The upfront cost is higher. But the running costs are lower, and after the tax, they’re lower still.
As Management Works Media has explored in its business analysis content, consumer decisions in regulated markets often follow the path of least financial resistance. When the government makes one product category more expensive, consumers migrate to whichever adjacent category absorbs the increase best. In vaping, that adjacent category is mods.
