Black Market UK
Even before the ban on disposables has come into play, the black market for illegal vapes is on the rise and has been documented by a leading retailer
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by Dave Cross
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Warnings were forcibly made to the last government that banning disposable/single-use ecigs, restricting vape flavours, or imposing a punitive tax rise on the most effective eliquids would lead to an increase in illegal activity. Now the scale of the black market for illegal vapes has been laid bare – it is on the rise and has been documented by leading retailer Vape Superstore.
Vape Superstore told Planet of the Vapes that it issued freedom of information requests and used the replies to rank councils across the United Kingdom in terms of those that have the most businesses selling illegal vapes and the highest number of illegal vape seizures for the period from 1st January 2023 to the 29th February 2024.
The vape retailer said: “Tens of thousands of illegal vapes are being seized from black market vape sellers in police raids across the UK every month.
Non-regulated vapes pose a danger as they may contain different amounts of nicotine to the amounts stated on the packaging, as well as having a higher chance of containing harmful chemicals.”
Back in 2023, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute said a third of all vape products sold in UK are not Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency compliant.
The failings the Chartered Trading Standards Institute detailed included:
- Incorrect or absent health warnings
- Tank sizes larger than 2ml
- Nicotine concentrations in excess of 20mg/ml
- Liquids containing CBD
- Incorrectly labelled bottles
Last year, tens of thousands of ElfBar products were “stripped from supermarket shelves” when they were found to contain illegal volumes of e-liquid.
It is widely believed that the incoming ban on disposable vapes in 2025 will see a further rise in the size of the black market.
Top 10 Councils for Vape Seizures
Vape Superstore’s key findings include:
- Kent County Council seized more illegal vapes than any UK council, counting 431,005 in total. Many of these arrive through the Eurotunnel terminal and the Port of Dover.
- Lancashire County Council has the most businesses stocking illegal vapes, with 132 dodgy shops in total.
- Carmarthenshire County Council seized the most illegal cigarettes in the UK, with a total of 160,000 packets.
During an investigation covering the dangers of black market vaping products, the company’s Dan Judd said: “At first glance, the black market for vaping products may seem negligible in the larger narrative of the vaping phenomenon. Yet, behind the scenes of the legitimate vaping industry, a web of unscrupulous suppliers and hidden dangers await the unsuspecting vaper. From illicit e-liquids that fail to meet safety standards to counterfeit vaping devices manufactured with little regard for quality control, the risks posed by these substandard and unregulated products are far from trivial.
“The consequences of the black market pose a dire health risk. Vapers who turn to the underground marketplace in search of more affordable options unknowingly expose themselves to a host of potential health hazards. With little to no transparency regarding the ingredients, manufacturing practices or quality assurance, these illicit products have the potential to inflict serious harm and tarnish the reputation of the entire industry.”
Full details of the ecig company’s findings can be found on its website.
Photo Credit:
Photo by Max Fleischmann on Unsplash
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.
