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

illegal vapes west sussex

Illegal vapes seized from shops in Littlehampton and Bognor

Photo: West Sussex County Council
Kiran Paul
By Kiran PaulNov 26, 2024
Kiran Paul
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More than 1.5 million illegal vapes were seized by local trading standards officers and polices 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

Region

SUM of 2022

SUM of 2023

SUM of 2024*

East Midlands

42,706

368,824

53,965

East of England

27,290

84,939

421,446

London

71,497

122,683

71,254

North East England

564

17,213

23,112

North West England

258,916

519,292

310,079

Northern Ireland

0

671

0

Scotland

4,922

16,999

20,290

South East England

52,402

461,767

164,133

South West England

11,633

36,951

39,704

Wales

17,750

712,069

247,208

West Midlands

46,182

122,201

117,927

Yorkshire and the Humber

3,494

93,243

43,236

Grand Total

537,356

2,556,852

1,512,354

*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.”

chartered trading standards institutemarcus saxtonnational trading standardstotally wickedtrading standardsillegal vapes

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