Illegal vapes seized by trading standards and police this year cross 1.5 million

More than 1.5 million illegal vapes were seized by local trading standards officers and police so far this year, data obtained through Freedom of Information requests have revealed.

Separately, National Trading Standards (NTS) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on Monday said over a million illegal vapes were seized by trading standards in 2023/24.

A joint initiative named Operation Joseph has tracked over 1.19 million illegal vapes removed from sale across England, a 59 per cent increase in the number seized compared to the previous year. The products seized failed to meet basic UK safety standards, with most containing excess nicotine levels.

New NTS data also shine a spotlight on sales of vapes to children. In Q4 2023-24, almost a quarter (24%) of the 775 test purchases conducted in-person by trading standards resulted in illegal sales to under 18s.

“Trading Standards officers recognise that it is really important that adult smokers are able to switch to legal compliant vaping products which carry a fraction of the risk of their lethal tobacco habit,” Kate Pike, lead officer for tobacco and vaping for the Chartered Trading Standards Institute said:

“These figures show we are working incredibly hard to remove illegal vapes from our communities and to support businesses not to sell to children. We encourage anyone with information about businesses ignoring the law to report to us so we can continue to target our enforcement resources most effectively.”

Meanwhile, vape firm Totally Wicked submitted Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to over200 local councils and authorities across the UK, gathering data on the number of illegal vapes seized by trading standards officers between 2022 and 2024.

Data Highlights by Region

*2024 figures accurate up until October 2024.

The FOI responses from 154 councils indicate a significant decrease in illegal vape seizures from the market's peak in 2023, when 2.5 million units were confiscated down to 1.5 million units so far in 2024. Areas like Greater London witnessed a decrease in seizures from their peak levels in 2023, but remains a focal point for enforcement due to population density and market size.

While Northern Ireland reported zero seizures in 2024, Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council did disclose that a shop voluntarily surrendered their supplies of illicit vaping products once they were made aware that their products were non-compliant and potentially unsafe, Totally Wicked said.

The East of England saw the largest increase of illegal vape seizures in 2024, with 336,507 more vapes seized by authorities than the previous year. A large portion of the growth came from Essex County Council which recorded the highest volume of illegal vape seizures in the country, this was due to 329,000 non-compliant units being refused entry at seaports and subsequently returned to their country of origin.

While not as pronounced, Scotland, the North East and South West of England also experienced an increasing number of illegal vape seizures.

Commenting on the findings, Marcus Saxton, Group CEO of Totally Wicked and chairman of the Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBVTA), said: “It's important to highlight that this is a regulated industry and at Totally Wicked, we take a strict approach to compliance. All of our products meet UK and EU standards, are rigorously tested, and are notified to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

“However, some distributors and retailers are either unaware or choose not to follow the rules. We welcome any crackdown on illegal and unsafe vaping products, as it helps protect consumers and ensures that only compliant products are available on the market.

“We strongly urge retailers to only source vapes from trusted and regulated distributors to guarantee that they are selling safe, compliant products.”