Yes, you can vape in Italy if you are at least 18 years old, but the country regulates where you use your device and how you buy your supplies. Indoor vaping is banned in government buildings, schools, hospitals, and on public transport, while bars, restaurants, and hotels decide for themselves. Outdoors is generally fine, with one national exception: vaping near pregnant women or minors can cost you up to €275.
The Age Rule
You must be 18 or older to buy any vaping product in Italy, whether or not it contains nicotine. The age floor was set when Italy transposed the EU Tobacco Products Directive through Legislative Decree No. 6/2016.1Tobacco Control Laws. Legislative Decree 12 January 2016, no. 6 Retailers verify age at the point of sale, and shops that sell to minors face administrative fines and potential loss of license.
Where You Can and Cannot Vape
Indoors
Vaping is prohibited inside government buildings, on all forms of public transport (trains, buses, ferries), and inside schools. School grounds often extend the ban to outdoor courtyards and sports fields. Hospitals and healthcare facilities enforce strict no-vaping policies as well.2Termedia Publishing. Journal of Health Inequalities – Milan, Italy: New Smoking Regulation in Public Places, Effective January 2025
Bars, restaurants, hotels, and private workplaces work differently. The owner or manager decides. In practice most restaurants and cafés prohibit it, but you’ll occasionally find a bar that allows it in a designated area. Look for posted signs or ask staff before pulling out your device. Getting it wrong can bring a fine on you, and the venue can be penalized for failing to enforce its own posted rules.
Outdoors
Outdoor vaping is generally permitted across Italy, with one nationwide exception: you cannot vape outdoors in the immediate vicinity of pregnant women or minors. That applies in parks, piazzas, and every other open space. Be aware of who is nearby before you exhale.
Cities can layer stricter rules on top through municipal ordinances. Milan drew international attention in January 2025 with one of Europe’s toughest outdoor smoking bans, which prohibits cigarette smoking on virtually all public streets and open spaces. That Milan ban does not apply to e-cigarettes or vapes, so vapers in Milan face only the standard national rules. Other municipalities may act differently, so check local signage when you arrive somewhere new.
What a Fine Looks Like
Standard fines for vaping where it’s prohibited start around €27.50 and can reach several hundred euros depending on the location and any aggravating factors, such as vaping near children or inside a healthcare facility. Fines roughly double in spaces specifically designated for the protection of minors. The outdoor rule about pregnant women and minors carries a fine of up to €275.
These are administrative penalties. An officer issues the fine on the spot or sends it by post, and you pay it without going to court. Ignoring a fine can create complications at future border crossings or visa applications, so treat even a small ticket seriously.
Buying Vape Products in Italy
Two kinds of shops sell vaping products: dedicated vape stores and traditional tobacconists called tabacchi, marked by a large “T” sign outside. Rome, Milan, and Florence have plenty of specialist vape shops with broader selections, while smaller towns may only have a tabacchi carrying a limited range.
Online Nicotine Sales Are Banned
Since January 1, 2025, Italy has banned the online sale of nicotine-containing e-liquids. You cannot order nicotine e-liquid from Italian websites for delivery inside Italy, and foreign retailers shipping nicotine products into the country face the same prohibition. Nicotine-free e-liquids and hardware (devices, coils, tanks) can still be bought online. If you depend on a specific nicotine brand, stock up before your trip or plan to visit a physical shop after arriving.
Bringing Your Vape Into Italy
Coming from another EU country, you can carry your device and a reasonable supply of e-liquid without customs formalities, because EU Tobacco Products Directive-compliant products move freely within the single market.
From outside the EU, keep quantities to what’s clearly personal use. Large volumes of e-liquid can trigger import duties or be classified as a commercial shipment, which requires permits and tax payments. There is no published per-milliliter allowance, so use judgment: a couple of spare bottles and your daily-use device won’t raise questions.
Flying With Your Device
E-cigarettes and any devices containing lithium-ion batteries must go in your carry-on bag. They are prohibited in checked luggage because a battery fault in the cargo hold, where no one can intervene, is a serious fire risk.3Federal Aviation Administration. Lithium Batteries in Baggage If your carry-on is gate-checked, pull the device and batteries out and keep them with you in the cabin.4Federal Aviation Administration. PackSafe – Lithium Batteries
Power the device off before boarding and put it in a protective case so it can’t fire accidentally. E-liquid bottles have to meet the standard airport liquids rule: 100 milliliters or less, packed together in a clear resealable plastic bag. Italian-legal refill bottles top out at 10 milliliters, so you’ll stay well under that limit.
What You’ll Find on the Shelf
Italy enforces the EU Tobacco Products Directive’s hard limits on what manufacturers can sell:
- Tanks and pods cannot exceed 2 milliliters.
- Nicotine-containing refill bottles are capped at 10 milliliters.
- E-liquid nicotine cannot exceed 20 milligrams per milliliter.
These limits are consistent across the EU.5GOV.UK. E-cigarettes: Regulations for Consumer Products Packaging must include child-resistant closures, tamper-evident seals, and health warnings printed in Italian. Manufacturers submit ingredient notifications to Italy’s Ministry of Health before marketing any new product.
Disposable e-cigarettes are still legal in Italy as of 2026, though the EU has been considering restrictions on single-use devices. The same nicotine and volume limits apply to disposables.
Heated Tobacco Is Not Treated as Vaping
If you use a heated tobacco product like IQOS rather than a standard vape, the rules that apply to you are the smoking rules, not the vaping rules. Heated tobacco devices heat real tobacco sticks and fall under the Sirchia Law’s indoor bans in full. Assume you cannot use one in any enclosed public space.
CBD Vape Products
CBD vaping products sit in a legal gray area. CBD itself is broadly legal, and CBD oils and topicals are sold openly. The picture for CBD flowers and resins became murkier after Decree Law 48/2025 attempted to restrict their retail sale; that decree is being challenged in Italy’s Constitutional Court and by the EU Commission, and enforcement varies by region.
If you’re bringing CBD vape products in, stick to commercially packaged CBD oil or cartridges that clearly show THC content below 0.2% on the label. A manufacturer’s certificate of analysis is a smart precaution. Do not travel with CBD flower or resin, which attract the most scrutiny at the border regardless of actual THC content.