Over 13,000 Illegal Vapes Seized in 3 Months

Published: 6 February 2023

More than 13,000 illicit vapes have been seized from wholesalers and retailers in Glasgow in the past three months.

The city's Trading Standards team confiscated the single-use vapes during spot checks of businesses selling directly to the public and to other retailers.

Officers from the council's Trading Standards team visit shops and warehouses to check businesses are complying with the regulations and advise retailers on their responsibilities.

In the last three month alone, in excess of 13,000 non-compliant single-use vapes have been seized for further examination. These products were confiscated for reasons including tank capacity and nicotine strength exceeding permitted levels. 

Gary Walker, Glasgow City Council's Head of Community Safety and Regulatory Services, said: "Vapes and e-cigarettes are extremely popular at the moment and sales have risen to meet that demand, but the number of complaints that Trading Standards are receiving has also risen.

"There are strict regulations around the sale of vapes to protect the public. Trading Standards officers visit retailers and wholesalers to ensure businesses are complying with those rules. Officers provide advice to retailers where necessary and also have powers to seize products which breach the regulations.

"There are also concerns that colourful, sweetly flavoured, single-use vapes appeal to young people but they should not be sold to anyone under the age of 18.

"Trading Standards also carry out unannounced test purchases with young volunteers to check that retailers are not selling prohibited products to anyone underage."

Vapes and e-cigarettes are regulated by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which requires that they have tanks to a capacity of no more than 2ml; a nicotine strength of no more than 20mg/ml; and their labels display manufacturer details and health warnings. Refill containers are restricted to a maximum capacity of 10ml, certain ingredients including colourings, caffeine and taurine (an amino acid) are banned and nicotine-containing products or their packaging must be child-resistant and tamper evident.

A report is currently being submitted to the Procurator Fiscal in relation to a significant seizure of non-compliant products from a shop in Glasgow.

Anyone with concerns about the sale of non-compliant vapes and e-cigarettes or the sale of these products to children should contact Advice Direct Scotland who will pass the concerns to the relevant Trading Standards Service.