Ealing has emerged as the second highest borough in London where illegal vapes have been seized by authorities during 2024, a new Freedom of Information (FOI) request has revealed.
Topping the seizure chart was Hillingdon with a staggering 484,954 vapes illegal vapes. Neighbouring borough Brent reported it had seized 3,932 illegal vapes while it was 683 for Hammersmith and Fulham.
Dan Marchant, director at Vape Club who compiled the report, said:
“The real issue of illicit vape sales lies in the inadequate enforcement of current regulations and penalties for those in violation of the law.
“With the disposable vape ban coming into force, we risk a new generation of illegal and potentially dangerous vaping products in the UK, all because the core of the issue has not been addressed. This boils down to lacklustre fines and little structure to provide Trading Standards with adequate funding.”
The numbers for Ealing were down on previous years for the borough. In 2022 during one raid by Ealing Council, 18,000 vapes were seized in Southall.
According to the council, the illegal vapes contained nicotine with a tank capacity exceeding what is permitted by law as well as the vapes not meeting statutory labelling and information requirements.
The products were branded as “Elux”, “R & M Tornado”, “Vapmod”, “Solox Vapes”, “M Bar” and “Raymont” and had a monetary value of around £180,000.
Mohammed Tariq, senior trading standards officer said at the time: “This department will do everything possible to protect consumers from purchasing these illegal products. We are concerned about the large number illegal items found from this one supplier.”
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