Ipswich: More than 2,000 illegal vapes seized from shops

Suffolk Trading Standards seized more than 2,000 illegal vapes in Ipswich

Suffolk Trading Standards says it has seized 2,007 illegal vapes from three town centre shops.

The seizures took place at stores in Ipswich, and saw 964 vapes found at one shop, 867 in the second and 176 in the third.

The businesses, which have not been named, now face further investigation.

Head of Suffolk Trading Standards Graham Crisp said: "Businesses who break those regulations can expect tough penalties."

The legal UK limit on nicotine content in disposable electronic cigarettes is no more than 20mg/ml and must not exceed 2ml in capacity, providing about 600 puffs.

The seized products contained oversized tanks capable of providing 3,500 to 10,000 puffs, a spokesperson said.

Suffolk Trading Standards is a department of Suffolk County Council.

The seized vapes held more than five times the legal capacity of 2ml, Suffolk Trading Standards said

"It is disappointing that these sort of vapes continue to make their way on to the market despite the widespread publicity about how they breach the safety legislation and could be unsafe to use," continued Mr Crisp.

"We will continue to carry out checks on retailers across Suffolk, taking legal action where necessary."

Last November, a total of 1,913 vapes were seized from shops in Lowestoft, Felixstowe, and Ipswich, while a further 2,500 were recovered in September from a shop in Ipswich.

On Monday, the government announced plans to ban disposable vapes to tackle the rising number of young people taking up the habit.

Conservative Andrew Reid, Suffolk County Council's cabinet member for public health and public protection, said of the seizures: "Vaping plays a big part in helping smokers to quit, especially when used in conjunction with specialist support from a stop smoking service.

"However, devices such as these are simply trying to cash in on the problem of inappropriate vaping."