Thousands of illegal vapes seized in South West

Some of the illegal vapes that have been seized by Devon and Cornwall Police

Thousands of illegal vapes have been seized by Trading Standards across the south-west of England in the past year.

Police said the problem of illegal vapes being bought by children was widespread and there was a high risk of them consuming highly dangerous synthetic drugs such as Spice.

Trading Standards officers said illegal vapes were being sold in shops as well as on social media or on the street with the trade linked to organised crime groups.

A public health boss in Cornwall said the number of illegal vapes seized was "the tip of the iceberg".

Sally Haydon from Plymouth City Council said illegal vape suppliers were targeting children

Public health experts said regulated vapes were an effective tool for adults to give up smoking but people - including children - were risking their health using illegal vapes where they did not know the contents.

Alex Fry, operations manager for Heart of the South West Trading Standards, which covers all of Devon and Somerset, said his team seized about 8,000 illegal vapes in 2023.

He said some illegal vapes seized had five times the legal level of nicotine as well as substances such as nickel and often had faulty electrics which could lead to fire risks.

Mr Fry said illegal vapes were "targeted" at young people with some disguised as objects such as highlighter pens to make it easier to smuggle them into school.

Trading Standards uses young people who go into shops and attempt and buy vapes illegally with undercover officers nearby who take action if shop staff sell to people under 18.

Sally Haydon, cabinet member for community safety at Plymouth City Council, said: "What you're finding is a lot of these vapes are looking very colourful, they're using flavouring and they're trying to entice younger people to be using vapes.

"If you're having an illegal vape you don't know what might have been put in there."

Det Con Nick Burnett said children were being found unconscious after using vapes which contained drugs such as Spice

Det Con Nick Burnett is a drugs liaison officer with Devon and Cornwall Police who uses pioneering equipment supplied by Bath University to quickly identify whether vapes or the vape refill bottles contain illegal substances.

He said 90% of refill bottles seized by police contained the drug Spice which can cause dizziness, breathing problems, heart palpitations, psychosis and seizures.

Det Con Burnett had taken one such bottle from a 14-year-old boy in Plymouth. He and colleagues work with schools to try to educate children about the dangers of illegal vapes.

He said: "It's the effect they're having on the students - they're becoming unwell and unconscious in some cases.

"They're generally taking them in the toilets so they're collapsing in the toilets, out of sight of anybody else, quite frequently on their own and then getting found later so they're putting themselves in a really vulnerable position."

Mr Burnett said he was also aware of children under the influence of illegal vapes "coerced into doing things they would not normally have done" and being blackmailed.

A recent study found one in six vapes seized across 38 schools contained Spice.

These illegal vapes were seized by Trading Standards officers in Cornwall

Trading Standards in Cornwall said they seized about 750 vapes in the 12 months leading up to June 2024.

The county's assistant director of public health, Ruth Goldstein, said: "I'm absolutely sure this is the tip of the iceberg because we know so many of our young people are actually vaping now.

"We know they can't obtain them from a reputable seller and therefore they must be getting them from somewhere and we know the non-reputable suppliers are often selling tampered vapes.

"You really are putting your health at risk by inhaling something when you've got no idea what's in it."