Thousands of illegal vapes are being seized by councils in the area. E-cigarettes are deemed non-compliant for a variety of reasons, including exceeding the maximum tank capacity, not fulfilling labelling requirements or containing illegal ingredients.
Bristol City Council first seized illegal vapes in 2022, when 1,619 were confiscated. Information obtained by Bristol Live via a Freedom of Information request shows that number quickly shot up, with 13,052 being seized in 2023 and 10,389 last year.
An increasing number of raids targeting this issue have also been done by the council, going from one in 2021 to 15 last year. The largest illicit vape the council has seized since 2019 had a capacity of 25,000 puffs.
While the maximum legal tank capacity is 2ml, Bristol City Council has seized 30ml ones and South Gloucestershire Council 20ml ones.
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has previously said that “while there is no definitive health risk to using non-compliant vapes, the MHRA strongly advises consumers not to use them as them as the true content is unknown, along with any possible health risks”.
The CTSI has previously said “it is very concerned about the volume of non-compliant vapes that are currently in circulation”. It said: “Based on test purchasing, around 1 in 3 vape products may be noncompliant – this may include having the wrong health warning, the wrong tank size, a higher concentration of nicotine, containing CBD, incorrect labelling – or all of the above.”
It added: “CTSI and Trading Standards teams need urgent support and clarification from the Government (DHSC) as the scale of non-compliant vapes and the concerns around underage sales are snowballing, and getting out of hand.”
South Gloucestershire Council first confiscated illegal vapes a year before Bristol did, in 2021. That year, it confiscated 3,299 illegal vapes.
This then decreased to 1,312 in 2022, followed by 4,232 in 2023 and 1,917 up to December 11 last year. In that time, the number of raids has ranged from 11 to 19, with the largest non-compliant vape seized in that time having a capacity of 15,000 puffs.
A South Gloucestershire Council spokesperson said: “South Gloucestershire Council is a market surveillance authority (MSA) under product safety legislation and we monitor the market place to ensure only compliant and safe products are placed and made available. Only legally compliant e-cigarettes that have undergone the MHRA submission and notification process should be sold to customers.
“The council’s Trading Standards team respond to complaints and undertake routine checks to ensure only legally compliant vapes are sold to the public. Over the last four years we have seized over 10,700 illegal disposable e-cigarette devices with a retail value of over £107,000.
“Although vaping is considered far safer than smoking traditional tobacco products, inhaling nicotine through a device is not risk free. There is legislation in place to regulate products that are placed on the market and responsible retailers only sell e-cigarette devices that are legally compliant. Any retailers who choose to put profit before compliance can expect a visit from the council’s Trading Standards team.”
North Somerset Council seized 265 illicit vapes in 2021, with this decreasing to 114 in 2022. However, this shot up to 988 in 2023 and then even more in 2024 to 1,372. The number of raids being carried out by the council has also gradually increased over time, from one in 2021 to nine last year.
The largest illegal e-cigarette seized by North Somerset Council was of 11,000 puffs. Back in November 2023, the Government said that “over 2 million illicit vapes” had been seized across England by Trading Standards from 2022 to 2023.