Illegal vapes with tank size over eight times legal limit among 1,000 seized from Notting Hill shop

May 26, 2023

Some vape pens offered 7,000 puffs, well above the legal 600 to 800 puffs

ape pens with a tank size over eight times the legal limit are among 1,000 illegal devices seized from a shop in Notting Hill.

Kensington and Chelsea council, which carried out the raid, is warning of a "growing risk" of illegal vapes being purchased by "unaware" teenagers.

Some vape pens had a tank size of 16ml - which would last around 7,000 puffs - well above Britain's legal 2ml tank size, which would last around 600 to 800 vapes.

During the raid by trading standards officers, 27 unsafe travel adaptors, nine pouches of oral tobacco and 62 packets of shisha tobacco were also discovered.

The seized vape pens had varying tank sizes from 5ml to 16ml - between 3,000 and 7,000 puffs, the council said on Wednesday.

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An unnamed business selling the products will be under investigation and "appropriate formal action will be taken to ensure unsafe products are not sold by this trader in future", the council said.

Councillor Josh Rendall said: "Illegal vapes are becoming prominent in shops around London with unscrupulous businesses selling non-compliant and oversized fake vapes.

"It is becoming a growing trend amongst young people who are unaware that they are buying fakes and the risks it carries with it.

"This is a fantastic result for our trading standards team who have been working hard to remove these illegal and dangerous products from our streets and continue to educate retailers about the risks they pose.

"We encourage residents to report any concerns about any suspected illegal products to our trading standards team."

Since 2022, more than 4,000 illegal vapes have been seized in Kensington and Chelsea worth £30,000.

The council will be carrying out a series of test purchases in the borough over the coming months to crack down on retailers selling to anyone under the legal age of 18.

In Britain it is illegal to sell cigarettes or vapes with nicotine to anyone aged under 18 and businesses can be prosecuted if they are caught.

In a joint effort London councils have vowed to crack down on shops selling colourful vapes to children by using undercover operations.

Westminster council seized a shocking 6,575 disposable vapes that contained excessive levels of nicotine and 481 nicotine pouches with no safety labelling from an Oxford St store in January.

In November more than 500 of illegal vapes were confiscated from two shops by Barking and Dagenham Council officers.

This week Australia announced that recreational vaping will be banned in a move to curb an alarming rise in the use of e-cigarettes by teenagers.

Vapes are considered illegal in Britain if manufacturers have not notified the medicines and healthcare products regulator, the MHRA, of the products before supplying them on the market.

The notifier is responsible for ensuring the information they submit to us about their product is correct. We then review this information and the declarations of conformity to check the product notification complies with the TRPR. 

Retailers could also be caught if they sell vapes from brands that have not been approved, despite containing the legal tank size, nicotine level and recommended puffs.

The highest nicotine strength for vapes is two per cent. All vape products containing nicotine need to carry the correct health warning covering 30 per cent of the front and back of the packet.

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