Council seizes illegal vapes

Midlothian Council Trading Standards Officers seized a haul of over 2,300 vapes from local retailers in the last year.

Excessive nicotine

These were seized mainly because they contain too much liquid nicotine. The Tobacco & Related Products Regulations 2016 requires that disposable vapes are restricted to no more than 2 millilitres maximum volume of nicotine-containing e-liquid. This is usually equal to 600 puffs but these vapes contained 3500-8000 puffs, equivalent to smoking hundreds of cigarettes.

Tip-offs

They were seized from 11 retailers and were investigated following inspections and also tip-offs from local residents and businesses.

Legal proceedings

Over 700 vapes from Midlothian have been sent to a special plant in Falkirk to be destroyed and part recycled. The rest of the seized vapes have been retained for evidence in the event of legal proceedings. A report has been sent to the Procurator Fiscal against one local trader. Those convicted can face 6-24 months imprisonment.

Health risks are concerning

Councillor Stuart McKenzie, Midlothian Cabinet Member with responsibility for Trading Standards said “I welcome the news of this seizure as the health risks from illegal and unregulated vapes that do not meet safety standards are concerning, especially with regards to the effects on the health of young people. Our Trading Standards team will continue to monitor the situation locally.”

Contact Trading Standards

Anyone with information regarding the potential sale of illegal or illicit vapes in Midlothian should contact our Trading Standards team by emailing tradingstandards@midlothian.gov.uk or by calling 0131 271 3556.