1.5 Million Illegal Vapes Seized by UK Trading Standards this year
- FOIs issued by Totally Wicked revealed more than 1.5 Million illegal vapes were seized by local trading standards officers and police
- Essex County Council reported the largest increase in seizures, due to non-compliant vapes being confiscated at seaports.
- Scotland, the North East, and South West England have reported increases in illegal vape seizures this year.
Each month, thousands of non-compliant vapes are confiscated from retailers in police raids and trading standards operations across the UK. These illegal products pose a serious risk to consumers due to products potentially exceeding the legal amount of nicotine content or containing harmful chemicals not found in approved vapes. These products are often the same retailers who fail to follow strict age verification protocols, meaning they are more likely to sell these products to underage youths.
In the last month the Government announced plans for disposable vaping products set for June 2025, the issue of illegal vaping products is more pressing than ever.
To get a better understanding of this issue, Totally Wicked submitted Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to over 200 local councils and authorities across the UK, gathering data on the number of illegal vapes seized by Trading Standards officers between 2022 and 2024.
Data Highlights by Region
| Region | SUM of 2022 | SUM of 2023 | SUM of 2024* |
| East Midlands | 42,706 | 368,824 | 53,965 |
| East of England | 27,290 | 84,939 | 421,446 |
| London | 66,371 | 94,520 | 70,708 |
| North East England | 653 | 20,881 | 26,433 |
| North West England | 258,916 | 519,292 | 310,079 |
| Northern Ireland | 0 | 671 | 0 |
| Scotland | 4,922 | 16,999 | 20,290 |
| South East England | 52,402 | 461,767 | 164,133 |
| South West England | 11,633 | 36,951 | 39,704 |
| Wales | 17,750 | 712,069 | 247,208 |
| West Midlands | 46,182 | 122,201 | 117,927 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 8,620 | 121,406 | 43,782 |
| Grand Total | 537,445 | 2,560,520 | 1,515,675 |
*2024 figures accurate up until October 2024.
The FOI data indicates a significant decrease in illegal vape seizures from the market’s peak in 2023, when 2.5 million units were confiscated down to 1.5 million units so far in 2024. The decline in the number of products being seized suggests enforcement efforts by Trading Standards and policing have been effective and disrupted supply chains in certain areas. Areas like Greater London witnessed a decrease in seizures from their peak levels in 2023, but remains a focal point for enforcement due to population density and market size.
While Northern Ireland reported zero seizures in 2024, Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council did disclose that a shop surrendered their supplies of illicit vaping products once they were made aware that their products were non-compliant and potentially unsafe.
Despite these successes, the illegal vape market remains an issue across the country with certain areas seeing an increase of criminal activity.
The East of England saw the largest increase of illegal vape seizures in 2024, with 336,507 more vapes seized by authorities than the previous year. A large portion of the growth came from Essex County Council which recorded the highest volume of illegal vape seizures in the country, this was due to 329,000 non-compliant units being refused entry at seaports and subsequently returned to their country of origin.
While not as pronounced, Scotland, the North East and South West of England also experienced an increasing number of illegal vape seizures.
Commenting on the findings, Marcus Saxton, Group CEO of Totally Wicked and Chairman of the Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBVTA), said:
“It’s important to highlight that this is a regulated industry and at Totally Wicked, we take a strict approach to compliance. All of our products meet UK and EU standards, are rigorously tested, and are notified to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).”
“However, some distributors and retailers are either unaware or choose not to follow the rules.We welcome any crackdown on illegal and unsafe vaping products, as it helps protect consumers and ensures that only compliant products are available on the market.
We strongly urge retailers to only source vapes from trusted and regulated distributors to guarantee that they are selling safe, compliant products.”
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