Intelligence gathering and national projects to tackle the supply of illicit vaping products

National Trading Standards helps tackle the importation of illegal vapes and vaping products by allocating funding to Local Authorities in England, where key seaports and airports are located. This supports activities to identify, detain, seize and disrupt the importation of illegal vapes and reduce their availability for retail sale.

Vaping products used by UK consumers are nearly all imported and the controls on nicotine content, nicotine strength, warnings, labelling and other criteria are in place to limit the risks associated with nicotine addiction and vaping products, especially in young people. Vaping is a much safer alternative for existing tobacco smokers but vaping products must still meet standards to enable safe use. New requirements prohibit the sale of single-use vapes on environmental grounds and counterfeit copies of known brands are also illegal.

The work is funded by a grant from the Department of Health and Social Care . This also supports improved national intelligence in relation to the supply of illegal vapes.