Avoiding Illegal Vapes

As news breaks that £190,000-worth of illegal Geek Bar Pro vapes have been confiscated in Newcastle, we look at how you can be assured that you are buying legal e-cig products.

News has come out this week that Newcastle Trading Standards completed a “massive haul of illegal e-cigarettes” worth almost £200,000. Amazingly, these devices contained more than twice the legal amount of nicotine and are believed to be fake products made in China by unauthorised manufacturers. What can you do to be confident that your online purchases are legal and conform to UK safety legislation?

Customers looking to purchase products from UK vape shops containing vape juice need to be certain that the e-liquid and devices conform to UK standards and be registered with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Newcastle Trading Standards identified outlets where illegal products weren’t just being sold, they were being bought and used by schoolchildren which is just wrong.

Products claiming to be legitimate Elf Bars and Geek Bars contained more than 50mg of nicotine and over 6ml of e-liquid.

• The current UK regulation stipulates that all UK vape liquid is restricted to a maximum of 20mg/ml and devices hold no more than 2ml of nicotine e-liquid.

The raids resulted in the seizure of 2,400 cases of products, equating to an incredible 24,000 devices, mainly coming from a fast-food establishment in the West End of Newcastle.

The Trading Standards team had been alerted to the products following an investigation sparked by complaints being made. The haul will be destroyed once a local magistrate grants Newcastle City Council a forfeiture order.

Councillor Linda Hobson said: “These e-cigarettes contain nicotine levels way above the legal limit which means they should not be being sold – particularly to children who might suffer toxic effects. We want parents to know what they are so they can warn their kids not to take them. I’d like to thank schools for bringing this to our attention and congratulate our Trading Standards team for investigating this and taking this potentially dangerous haul off our streets.”

Professor Milne, the Director of Public Health said: “Although nicotine per se is not the really dangerous part of smoking, and is safe in moderation, it should not be consumed by children and certainly not at these strengths which would only be permitted on prescription.

“While vaping products continue to play an important role in supporting tobacco smokers to switch to a less harmful form of nicotine, we must do all we can to prevent sales to children and to remove from sale products which do not comply with UK regulations.”

How can I know if my purchases are safe and legal?

The first step is to only buy your products from a reputable e-cig vendor such as E-Liquids UK. All the products stocked here are sourced responsibly and conform to current UK legislation.

Any product containing nicotine or premium vaping liquid must undergo testing and provide the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency with a list of ingredients. eLiquids that haven’t been registered with the agency may contain dangerous substances. Pods, Disposables, and bottles of vape juice sold in other countries can contain ingredients such as diacetyl – classified as harmful and banned in the UK.