Illegal vapes flood UK markets, authorities seized over 2.5 million in three years, reveals data

As per official data, the government authorities have seized millions of illegal and harmful vapes in the last three years, as experts warn that this is the “tip of the iceberg” and a “tsunami” of such products is actually flooding the UK markets.

As per reports accessed by 125 local authorities, officials have confiscated more than 2.5 million illicit e-cigarettes since the start of 2020. According to the figures, trading standards at Hillingdon Borough Council had seized 1,352,063 illicit e-cigarettes in west London.

The e-cigarettes are not in compliance with the legal regulations of the UK and have high levels of nicotine concentration, contain banned ingredients or carry the chance of having oversized tanks for nicotine liquid. In the previous analysis, it was found that illicit vapes contain high levels of lead, nickel and chromium.

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Tsunami of vapes

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Chartered Trading Standards Institute lead officer Kate Pike said that the figures appearing from the reports are just the “tip of the iceberg” with respect to the number of non-compliant vapes which are being sold in UK shops.

“I get calls from colleagues at the port almost every day – it feels like there is a tsunami. They are mainly coming from China,” she stated.

“We don’t need sniffer dogs to find these products as they are all on shelves in high-street shops, in full view of the public,” Pike stated.

“There is a significant number of illegal products on the market, which does not help when we are trying to support the public health response, which is to ensure the products are much safer than tobacco for smokers looking to quit,” the officer added.

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“The main concern is that young people are getting their hands on these products… We do not want children or adults getting addicted to something like this at all,” she stated.

Pike stated that generally the illegal vapes do not carry the right information or warning on their packages. “We know that legal compliant vapes pose a fraction of the risk of smoking but we do not know what the risk is from illegal vapes,” she stated.

Director of the retailer Vape Club Dan Marchant said that illicit vape products “have the potential to be dangerous”. “They are declared as atomisers on the paperwork but when they come through we can see in the packaging they will have a battery warning and say they are vapes,” he said.

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