Efforts to tackle an influx of illegal vaping products being sold across the county are being stepped up by Derbyshire County Council’s trading standards officers.
The council’s trading standards team has seized more than 8,000 illegal vaping products since last June from around 60 local businesses, with complaints from the public about traders selling non-compliant products rising five-fold in the past year.
The issue is reflected across the country, with the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), the body representing trading standards in the UK, expressing concern and reporting that nationally, teams are becoming overwhelmed by the volume of non-compliant vapes being sold by retailers.
According to latest figures highlighted by the CTSI, more than 138 million disposable vapes are sold every year, and with one in three products being potentially non-compliant, that is more than 45 million non-compliant products being sold every year.
The figures also revealed that 1.4 tonnes of illegal vapes were seized in the last six months of 2022 in the North East of England alone, with trading standards officers across the country working tirelessly to try to combat the `tidal wave’ of non-compliant vapes being sold.
Derbyshire County Council trading standards officers have already diverted resources from other areas of work to try to tackle the issue in the county and clamp down on the illegal trade and under-age sales of such products.
The current regulations specify that vapes are required to have tanks to a capacity of no more than 2ml; a nicotine strength of no more than 20mg/ml; and their labels should display manufacturer details and health warnings. Any vapes that have contents exceeding these amounts are illegal products and should not be sold to consumers.
While there is no definitive health risk to using non-compliant vapes, the Medical and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) strongly advises consumers not to use them as the true content is unknown and could therefore pose a health risk.
As well as following up complaints about the selling of illegal vaping products, Derbyshire’s trading standards officers are also visiting businesses to offer advice and guidance on sales, including warning of under-age sales of vaping products.
Derbyshire County Council Cabinet Member for Health and Communities Councillor Carol Hart said: “Our trading standards officers are working tirelessly to crack down on the sale of illegal vaping products but the influx to our county and nationwide is huge and it’s a tough task.
“These products can be illegal for a number of reasons, including the strength and content of the product, and that means that many of them could pose a health risk.
“It’s our job to protect consumers and also legitimate traders and we are putting in as many resources as we can to try to tackle this problem. Rest assured the team are doing all they can and we’re asking people to continue to report any concerns they may have and they will be investigated.”
Councillor Hart added: “While not smoking at all is obviously better for everyone, it is important to remember that vapes that are compliant with the law are substantially less harmful than smoking cigarettes and can be effective for helping people quit smoking.”
To report any issues to trading standards people should contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 2231133 or go online.