Brighton: Illegal vapes and tobacco products seized from shops

The Trading Standards operation took place over three days early last month with help from a specialist police unit and dog handler.

Brighton and Hove City Council's Trading Standards team are now considering a range of enforcement options, including closure orders, prosecutions and referrals to other agencies to deal with the illegal sale of tobacco and vapes.

All legally sold vaping devices need to be approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency and must not exceed 20mg/2 per cent of nicotine concentration and 2ml in capacity - around 600 puffs.

Councillor Leslie Pumm, chairman of the council's equalities, community safety and human rights committee, said: “We are determined to continue our crackdown on the selling of illicit vapes and tobacco products and the selling of these to vulnerable young people. 

An illegal vape that is designed to look like a milkshake (Image: Supplied)

“Most users might not realise that by purchasing unregulated vaping devices they could be causing long-term damage to their health and fostering a serious nicotine addiction. 

“Local business owners have been briefed on the legal requirements regarding the selling of vapes and therefore should know better than to risk their livelihoods and the wellbeing of our residents.

“I would like to issue a stern warning to all retailers to ensure all disposable e-cigarettes, e-liquids and vaping devices they sell meet UK legal requirements and remind them about the age restriction on the sale of vapes.

“Anyone selling vapes to someone under 18 is committing an offence. The owner of the business can be held responsible as well as the member of staff who made the sale.”

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Vape shops in Sussex that operate legally have complained of being “tarnished by the same brush” because of businesses that sell illegal vapes to children.

Some of the illegal vapes sold advertise themselves as 6,000 puffs, which would make them 20ml and ten times the legal tank size.

A 20mg vape which has a capacity of 20ml capacity, 6,000 puffs worth, is equivalent of up to 480 cigarettes.

The council said they may contain higher doses of nicotine and dangerous chemicals including lead, tin and nickel.

It said the single use nature of vapes also poses an environmental hazard.