Many retailers 'not aware of disposable vape ban'

The sale of disposable vapes was banned on 1 June

Trading Standards officers in Derbyshire have seized almost 2,500 disposable vapes since a nationwide ban came into force on 1 June.

The ban applies to all retailers, including online stores, and prohibits the sale of both nicotine and non-nicotine disposable vapes, with the primary aim of reducing environmental damage and addressing addiction in young people.

Officers working across Derbyshire said they have come across retailers who said they "did not know" the ban was in place.

Owen Rees, Trading Standards manager at Derbyshire County Council, said: "Over the last four to five years, vapes have become an issue and with the ban we've had to divert resources."

One vape shop owner in Derby, who did not want to be identified, said he was aware of other shops selling them under the counter and still gets customers coming into his shop asking for disposables.

The shop owner said vape manufacturers have adapted to produce similar products which mimic disposable vapes but are compliant with the rule changes.

These devices look similar but are rechargeable and pre-filled nicotine pods are replaced at the top of the device when finished.

But he added the disposable vapes were a "money-maker" and that his profits have dropped by 25% since the ban.

"You get offers to sell them for a discounted price but it's against the law," he said.

"I play by the rules but others don't... they are popular and people still want to buy them.

"What's being sold is stock left over [before the ban] and shops actively getting them in from elsewhere."

More than 2,000 disposable vapes have been seized in Derbyshire since the ban came in

Between April 2024 and March 2025, before the ban came in, enforcement work from the Trading Standards team led to 6,000 vapes being seized from 32 out of 44 shops inspected.

The council said most were down to devices being in excess of the 2ml tank size or "600 puffs".

Since the ban on 1 June, 2,418 disposable vapes have been seized in the county, mainly from stores in Ilkeston, Chesterfield and Bolsover.

The council also said there were 22 test purchases carried out during the last 12 months which resulted in four sales to young people - mainly in Chesterfield.

Mr Rees added enforcement officers are still seizing vapes with nicotine levels of 5% - more than double the strength of what is legislated in the UK.

'Flouting the law'

On how enforcement action has changed, Mr Rees said: "What we'd pick up is vapes that typically have a tank size containing in excess of the 2ml, which is law, and sometimes in excess of the legal limit of nicotine at 2%.

"We now come across disposable vapes that should not be on sale after 1 June, which we have seized.

"We think this might be for a number of reasons, one of which is retailers simply not being aware of the ban having come in, through to deliberately flouting the law.

"Others are trying to get rid of old stock and thought they were able to do that, which of course they aren't, and others are actively sourcing them from other parts of the country trying to sell them."

Due to the ban only coming into force in the last few months, enforcement officers in Derbyshire are initially being more lenient and urge compliance. But repeated offences will result in "more formal action".