Midlothian Council seizes more than 2,300 vapes from local retailers

Vapes seized by trading standards in Midlothian

Midlothian Council Trading Standards Officers seized a haul of over 2,300 vapes from local retailers in the last year.

These were seized mainly because they contain too much liquid nicotine. The Tobacco and 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 are the equivalent to smoking hundreds of cigarettes.

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

Gail McElroy who manages the council’s trading standards team and Councillor Stuart McKenzie with just some of the 2,300 illegal vapes seized from local retailers over the past year.

Over 700 vapes from Midlothian have been sent to a special plant in Falkirk to be destroyed and part recycled. The rest of the seized vapes 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.

Councillor Stuart McKenzie, Midlothian Cabinet Member with responsibility for Trading Standards 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 in Midlothian should contact our Trading Standards team by emailing [email protected] or by calling 0131 271 3556.