New figures published by National Trading Standards (NTS) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) show that more than a million illicit vapes were seized by Trading Standards teams in England in 2023/24, in addition to more than 19 million illegal cigarettes.
The vapes were seized as part of the Operation Joseph initiative, a joint project by NTS and the DHSC to combat non-compliant vaping products and the illegal sale of vapes to under-18-year-olds.
More than 1.19 million illegal vapes were removed from sale across England, a 59% increase on the previous year. The products seized failed to meet basic UK safety standards, with most containing excess nicotine levels.
NTS figures also reveal that in Q4 2023-24, almost a quarter (24%) of the 775 test purchases conducted in-person by Trading Standards teams as part of Operation Joseph resulted in illegal sales to under-18s.
Kate Pike, CTSI Lead Officer for Tobacco and Vaping, said: “Trading Standards Officers recognise that it is really important that adult smokers are able to switch to legal compliant vaping products which carry a fraction of the risk of their lethal tobacco habit. These figures show we are working incredibly hard to remove illegal vapes from our communities and to support businesses not to sell to children. We encourage anyone with information about businesses ignoring the law to report to us so we can continue to target our enforcement resources most effectively.”
NTS has also revealed that Operation CeCe — a joint initiative between NTS and HMRC that has been running since 2021 with the purpose of disrupting the illicit tobacco trade – led to the seizure of more than 19 million illicit cigarettes and 5,103kg of hand-rolling tobacco worth £11.7m in 2023/24.
Since Operation CeCe was launched three years ago, 46 million illicit cigarettes and 12,600kg of hand-rolling tobacco have been seized.
“The protection of communities, public health and the safeguarding of honest businesses who are struggling to compete with the flood of illegal products lies at the heart of what Trading Standards does,” said Lord Michael Bichard, Chair of National Trading Standards.
“Trading Standards has seized nearly 1.2 million illegal vapes and more than £26m worth of illicit tobacco so far. But the reality is further action is necessary to remove more illegal – and in many cases dangerous – products from sale.”
Richard Las, Director, HMRC Fraud Investigation Service, commented: “Illicit tobacco undermines legitimate retailers, funds wider crime, and harms public health while depriving our vital public services of around £2.2bn a year.
“We will continue to work with partners like Trading Standards to tackle this organised criminal trade that harms our communities. These criminals don’t care who they sell to, including children.
“We urge anyone with information about the smuggling, distribution or sale of illicit tobacco to report it online.”
Minister for Public Health and Prevention, Andrew Gwynne, said: “This shows just how many illegal and harmful vapes are on our streets, putting consumers and children at risk. To further crack down on illicit trade of tobacco products and vapes, we are investing an extra £10m to keep these harmful products out of the hands of kids.
“The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will strengthen enforcement activity, allowing Trading Standards to take swifter action to enforce the law, including on non-compliant products, and closing loopholes.”
