Trading standards seize more than 2000 illegal vapes across the county

Gail McElroy, who manages the Trading Standards team, and Cllr Stuart McKenzie with some of the illegal vapes.

These were seized mainly because they contain too much liquid nicotine.

The Tobacco & Related Products Regulations 2016 requires that disposable vapes are restricted to no more than 2 millilitres maximum volume of nicotine-containing e-liquid. This is usually equal to 600 puffs but these vapes contained 3500-8000 puffs which - equivalent to smoking hundreds of cigarettes.

They were seized from 11 retailers who were investigated following inspections and also tip-offs from local residents and businesses.

Over 700 vapes from the have been sent to a special plant in Falkirk to be destroyed and part recycled. The rest have been retained for evidence in the event of legal proceedings. A report has been sent to the Procurator Fiscal against one local trader. Those convicted can face 6-24 months imprisonment.

I llegal vapes containing more than 15 times the legal limit of liquid, are freely circulating across the country.

It is believed that a third of vapes currently sold in the UK are non-compliant, and this figure could rise significantly with the impending ban on disposable vapes due in 2025. Research shows the vast majority of illegal vapes are purchased from brick-and-mortar stores, but the volume of online searches demonstrates the existence of a growing illicit market on the internet.

The study was carried out by online retailer Vapekit.co.uk, which analysed the monthly search volume for illegal vapes across the UK over the past 12 months.

Councillor Stuart McKenzie, Midlothian Cabinet Member with responsibility for Trading Standards, said the team will continue to keep an eye on the situation.

He said: “I welcome the news of this seizure as the health risks from illegal and unregulated vapes that do not meet safety standards are concerning, especially with regards to the effects on the health of young people.

"Our Trading Standards team will continue to monitor the situation locally.”

Anyone with information regarding the potential sale of illegal or illicit vapes should contact Trading Standards by emailing [email protected] or by calling 0131 271 3556.