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Advice issued to Liverpool retailers over illegal vapes

Advice issued to Liverpool retailers over illegal vapes
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Advice has been issued to Liverpool retailers over illegal e-cigarettes after investigations found large numbers of retailers selling illegal vaping products.

According to local reports, illegal vaping products and e-cigarretes are being sold rampantly in Liverpool. In a recent test purchasing exercise across the city to check on compliance, Liverpool council trading standards officers were able to buy illegal products from 74 retailers – some containing up to 3,500 puffs, almost six times above the legal limit.


The council has also been receiving a large number of complaints over the sale of these products to children and is asking parents with information and evidence to contact them.

Vaping devices are highly regulated by the government to control the amount of nicotine available and have to be approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

They should contain no more than 2 per cent nicotine or hold more than two millilitres of liquid, equivalent to 600 puffs or a packet of cigarettes. The vapes found in the recent test purchasing exercise far exceeded these limits.

The council is now offering retailers the opportunity to contact Trading Standards to seek advice on vaping products. As per the released advice, each packet and any container pack must carry the warning - “This product contains nicotine which is a highly addictive substance”.

This health warning must cover 30 per cent of the area of each of those surfaces and should be in black Helvetica bold type on a white background in a large font size in the centre of the surface area.

In addition, the advice says that:

  • e-cigarette tanks should have a capacity of no more than 2ml
  • refills should be limited to 10ml
  • e-liquids should have a nicotine strength of no more than 20mg/ml
  • packaging and containers should be child-resistant and tamper evident
  • colourings, caffeine and taurine are not allowed
  • contain details of the UK importer for traceability and the European Community Identification (ECID) number showing authentication by MHRA

Councillor Abdul Qadir, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said: "E-cigarettes and vaping products are seen by many people as a way of giving up smoking.

“Our worrying research shows that people are unknowingly exposing themselves to far more nicotine than they would from using cigarettes, meaning they are even worse for their health.

“Our advice to people buying these products is to always check that the packaging has all of the appropriate warnings on it so that they can be confident they are not exposing themselves to far greater levels of toxic substances than is allowed under the law."

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Indies: It’s criminal police and government turn blind eye to shoplifting

Independent retailers are demanding tougher police action, more bobbies on the beat and harsher punishments as shoplifting levels reach an all-time high, a new survey reveals.

A whopping ninety-one per cent of respondents to a survey conducted by the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) called for more police patrols on streets, while a similar number - 90 per cent - said that shoplifters should be handed harsher sentences.

Seven out of 10 respondents (72 per cent) said their stores had experienced shoplifting, break ins and damage to property, while they and their staff had been physically or verbally threatened.

Just under half of respondents (47 per cent) said they and their employees had been threatened or had suffered abuse and violence when asking for proof of age ahead of selling an age-restricted product.

Forty-four per cent reported that they and their staff had faced abuse or violence because they had refused to make a proxy sale – selling an age restricted product to a customer buying for a minor.

The results of the Fed’s survey came as new figures from the Office of National Statistics revealed that shoplifting was at a record high, with almost half a million offences recorded last year.

According to the ONS, 469,788 offences were logged by forces in the year to June 2024 – a 29 per cent increase on the previous 12 months.

The ONS added that this figure was the highest since records began – in March 2003.

“Inadequate responses from the police and a slap on the wrist for offenders means that shoplifting is soaring, and offenders are becoming more aggressive and brazen,” said Fed National President Mo Razzaq.

“From the responses we received, it is clear that real action is needed by police, by courts and by the government to stem the overwhelming tide of crime against retailers and their staff. Everyone deserves to feel safe at work and for their businesses to be protected against criminals.

“Fed members are also sending a clear message that one of the catalysts for verbal and physical abuse in stores is asking for proof of age before selling an age restricted product. If the government presses ahead with its plans to phase out smoking and vaping through a progressive ban to gradually end the sale of tobacco products across the country, independent retailers will be subject to even greater levels of violence, abuse and theft.”

Calling for action from the government and not just words, Mr Razzaq continued: “Without effective deterrent, criminals and opportunistic members of the public will continue to commit crimes.”

According to Ministry of Justice statistics, during the year to March 2024, 431 fines were handed out for retail theft under £100, while Home Office statistics for the same period show that 2,252 cautions were accepted for shoplifting.

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