Geekbar Announces Factory Closures
Geek Bar says it has been instrumental in closing down seven counterfeit factories in China over the past six weeks
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by Dave Cross
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Geek Bar says: “The company has been working closely with the authorities in China to identify factories producing fake products. This has resulted in the closure of seven counterfeit production facilities and the seizure of more than 100,000 fake products destined for the UK. Those responsible for setting up these illegal factories are now facing criminal charges and if found guilty, a minimum three-year prison sentence.
“The UK has seen a rapid growth in the popularity of Geek Bar and other disposable vape products in the past year. The success of this segment of the vaping industry, due to the popularity of such products amongst former smokers looking to quit using vape products, has attracted counterfeit activity and increased trading in non-compliant products.”
Allen Yang, Chief Executive at Geek Bar, said: “The UK is our biggest market and we are not going to stand by as our reputation for producing high quality disposable vape products for adult smokers is being damaged by those involved in illegal trading”.
In addition to stopping counterfeit products entering the country, the company says it has also been working with UK regulators to stop distributors and retailers who are behind the supply and sale of non-compliant products, such as the company’s Geek Bar Pro brand that has a higher nicotine content, legal in some countries, but not in the UK.
In the UK, regulations state that nicotine-containing e-liquid should contain no more than 20mg/ml of nicotine nor have above 2ml liquid capacity. Geek Bar has warned distributors and retailers that if they are found to be supplying or selling its non-compliant products in the UK, they will be reported to Trading Standards (1) and has urged consumers to do the same.
Geek Bar says it has appointed leading vaping compliance specialist Arcus Compliance to rigorously review all the packaging and branding for its complete product range sold in the UK in order to differentiate it from products not designed for the British market. Packaging has been updated in line with recently published vaping industry guidelines and special features incorporated to combat counterfeits. Geek Bar has also been receiving guidance from, and working closely with, the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) and Independent British Vape Trade Association (IBVTA).
Continues Yang: “We are leaving no stone unturned in our efforts to safeguard our customers from these counterfeit and non-compliant products. The scale of fake products is extremely concerning especially given the possible dangers from unregulated e-liquid components and inferior battery. We take our responsibility very seriously and I hope this sends a clear message to those attempting to manufacture fake products or bring non-compliant ranges into the UK, that their illegal activities will not be tolerated.
“For many smokers disposable vapes are an important part of their strategy to give up or cut down. We are determined to ensure that our customers are safely protected from this illegal trade.”
References:
- Trading Standards Hunt Illegal Disposables - https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/news/vaping-news/2021-09-29_trading-standards-hunt-illegal-disposables.html
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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