Seizures of illegal vapes in the first four months of the year were seven times as high as in the whole of 2021.
Research found the UK has been flooded with two million illicit e-cigarettes since the beginning of last year. Local leaders have called for a stronger crackdown on counterfeit vapes, with usage surging among children and adults.
London, the South East and North West were the top three regions for counterfeit vape seizures, according to the analysis. The findings, uncovered through freedom of information requests sent to 167 local authorities by VapeClub, raise concerns about a booming black market selling products that do not comply with UK regulations and have not been through appropriate safety testing.
Headteacher Laranya Caslin last month told MPs that children were ending up with harmful and illegal vapes despite a ban on underage sales of the products.
Ms Caslin, who said approximately 25% of students at her school are vaping, said: “A worry for me is youngsters who aren’t able to go into a reputable shop and buy a regulated vape are in my view more likely therefore to buy a vape from somewhere where they don’t know its origin so they’re a little bit more at risk in that regard of a vape containing toxic, flammable, carcinogenic substances.”
She told the story of one parent who confiscated five vapes from their child’s bedroom and after handing them to police for analysis, found they contained nine different harmful chemicals.
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting: “It is seriously concerning that illegal vapes are flooding into the country and being sold on the black market, with children targeted in particular.
“We cannot sit back and allow a new generation of kids to get hooked on nicotine. The health impacts and the difficulties it is causing in schools is seriously worrying. Labour will come down like a ton of bricks on underage vaping and ban the marketing of vapes to children, to give every child a healthy start to life.”
Luton Council leader Hazel Simmons said: ‘’The sale of illicit tobacco, vape pens and shisha is often linked to wider organised criminal activity, so we have good reason to be vigilant. The sale of illicit vape pens and tobacco evades tax and is unfair to honest traders.
“They also put people’s health at risk, which is particularly concerning when the traders sell to children. It is important that parents and carers engage with their children to ensure that they are not being sold nicotine-containing vape pens when under 18 years of age.”
Dan Marchant, director of vaping and e-liquids retailer Vape Club, said: “Illicit vaping products have the potential to be dangerous to the user's health. What’s needed is a licensing scheme so proper age verification tests can be applied to every retailer.
"There must also be higher fines applied to every breach for the rogue sellers. The UK Vaping Industry Association is calling for the fines to be raised to at least £10,000, which would be a real deterrent."
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