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Tag: England

  • Essex Vape Shop Closed for 3 Months for Selling Illicit Vapes

    Essex Vape Shop Closed for 3 Months for Selling Illicit Vapes

    The Mellow Yellow Vape Shack in south Essex, England, was ordered to close for three months after being caught selling counterfeit tobacco and illegal vapes by Thurrock Council’s trading standards team in February. The team, accompanied by sniffer dog Lily, found large quantities of counterfeit cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco hidden in the shop, along with illegal vapes that came in packaging targeting children or that were more than 10 times the legal tank size.

    This is the second time the shop has been caught selling illegal products in less than six months. The Basildon Magistrates Court ordered the shop to remain closed for three months and for Amir Ahmadi to pay £4,665.67 in costs.

    “Let this be a message to any business that thinks it can cheat and endanger its customers by selling counterfeit and illegal goods,” said Victoria Holloway, councilor responsible for place and the environment. “Our trading standards team will find you and the full force of the law will be used to hold you to account.”

  • Nearly $250K in Illegal Nicotine Products Seized in U.K.

    Nearly $250K in Illegal Nicotine Products Seized in U.K.

    Thousands of illegal nicotine products were seized in South West, England, last week as Trading Standards South West (TSSW) and police officers raided 50 locations over five days across the region. Part of Operation CeCe, officials seized 127,371 cigarettes, 65.94kg (2,326 oz) of hand-rolling tobacco, 4,490 vapes, and 2.5kg (88 oz) of shisha, all illegal, with a total value of £186,000 ($241,800).

    “Members of [the] public need to be aware of [the] serious criminal association that these products have to criminal gangs,” said Ben Hayes, the regional illegal tobacco and vape lead at TSSW. “I urge anyone with concerns about sales of illegal tobacco and vaping products, including their underage sales, to report them to Trading Standards South West.”

  • Study: Villainizing Vape is Backfiring

    Study: Villainizing Vape is Backfiring

    A study published in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, conducted by Brighton and Sussex Medical School, revealed that the constant vilification of all nicotine products so users will stop smoking and using “tobacco products” altogether appears to be backfiring. The study said that while many smokers are looking for less harmful alternatives, “inappropriate misinformation” about products such as e-cigarettes is keeping them from switching.

    In the findings, 85% of the smokers in England, where the study was conducted, had an incorrect understanding of vaping’s risks. Whereas vaping is not risk-free, it is less harmful than traditional smoking, yet some believe it’s as much or even more harmful as combustible cigarettes.

    “This misunderstanding is a big obstacle in the path of quitting cigarettes,” wrote the Hindustan Times. “They don’t see vaping, as a viable alternative to cigarettes.

    “To overcome any addictive habit or even go to the milder alternatives to gradually quit the habit, a strong motivation is required. With the widespread misunderstanding, smokers don’t feel motivated enough to switch. As per them if it’s as bad as traditional smoking, they see little point in making the switch.”

  • U.K. Vape Market on the Rise

    U.K. Vape Market on the Rise

    The e-cigarette market in the U.K. is estimated to grow by $1.47 billion from 2025-2029, according to Technavio, a market research company that specializes in growth opportunities, growing at a CAGR of 13.6%.

    “The U.K. e-cigarette market is undergoing a substantial evolution, marked by inventive product improvements,” Technavio writes. “Notable is the shift from disposable e-cigarettes toward reusable pod systems. These systems offer environmental benefits, as they allow for recharging and refilling, thereby reducing waste. Moreover, advancements in e-liquid formulations, like nicotine salts, provide enhanced nicotine delivery with a smoother sensation. Innovations in coil technology further boost flavor intensity and vapor production, thereby improving user experience.”

  • England: Half a Million Fake Cigarettes Seized

    England: Half a Million Fake Cigarettes Seized

    The Hull (England) City Council announced that last week it seized more than 500,000 counterfeit cigarettes and vapor products from a property on Anlaby Road.

    The council’s trading standards team and Humberside Police said it seized “266 pounds (121kg) of cigarettes and 500 vapes hidden in stacks of cardboard boxes.”

    “Tobacco like this is about more than just cheap cigarettes or vapes,” Charles Quinn, city councilor said. “Products aren’t subject to any safety regulations – they could pose a significant fire risk and there’s simply no way to know what you’re actually buying.

    “Research also shows they fund organized crime. There’s simply no place for these counterfeit products in our communities”.

  • U.K. Nearing Generational Ban

    U.K. Nearing Generational Ban

    The United Kingdom is poised to implement a generational tobacco ban this year, which would make it the only nation in the world to have such legislation at the national level. The proposal would make it illegal for anyone born after January 1, 2009 to buy tobacco products.

    The Tobacco and Vapes Bill was originally introduced in 2023 but made little progress until it was revived in November 2024. In the first vote in Parliament’s House of Commons, members of Parliament voted 415 to 47 in favor of the bill, which currently sits in the Commons committee stage and is set to be voted on again in the House of Commons later this month. Additional committee sittings are scheduled until then, with the intent of concluding the proceedings by January 30. The bill would then return to the House of Commons, and with a favorable vote would move to the House of Lords.

    As this proposal was introduced by the Conservative Party and later reintroduced by the Labour Party, there is little political resistance to stop it. There is fleeting hope that some of the language will change down the road, but as for now, the wording is a generic, wide-ranging categorization of tobacco products, which lumps all products containing nicotine together, including cigars.

    “The big problem for us is that, from our view, this has been such an undemocratic, uninformed piece of legislation,” said Eddie Sahakian, who runs London’s renowned Davidoff cigar store. “We would have understood if the normal forms of consultation had taken place, if all stakeholders were consulted and opinions were taken.

    “Our preferred outcome here is that there is a carve-out for handmade, premium cigars.”

    Writing for Cigar Aficionado, Garrett Rutledge said, “The next month will be critical. Every possibility theoretically remains on the table, although all signs continue to strongly point to the ban proposal becoming law this year.

    “If a nation like the United Kingdom were to implement such a law, it’s a near certainty that many others around the world would soon attempt to follow suit. New Zealand kicked things off in 2023, despite the legislation eventually being repealed. And recently, state and local governing bodies in the United States have begun proposing, and implementing, their own generational bans. Given the continued trend, it appears this is only just the beginning.”

  • E-cig Harm Perceptions Worsening: Study

    E-cig Harm Perceptions Worsening: Study

    Photo: Asier

    Harm perceptions of e-cigarettes have worsened substantially over the last decade among adult smokers in England, according to a study published by Jama Network Open.

    In 2023, most adults who smoked believed e-cigarettes to be at least as harmful as cigarettes. The timing of the changes in harm perceptions coincided with the e-cigarette, or vaping product, use-associated lung injury outbreak in 2019 and the recent increase in youth vaping in England since 2021.

    Researchers collected data from 28 393 adult smokers. In November 2014, 44.4 percent thought e-cigarettes were less harmful than cigarettes, 30.3 percent  thought e-cigarettes were equally harmful, 10.8 percent thought they were more harmful, and 14.5 percent said they did not know.

    However, by June 2023, the proportion who thought e-cigarettes were less harmful had decreased by 40 percent, and the proportion who thought e-cigarettes were more harmful had more than doubled.

    Changes over time were nonlinear: late 2019 saw a sharp decline in the proportion who thought e-cigarettes were less harmful and increases in the proportions who thought they were equally or more harmful. These changes were short-lived, returning to pre-2019 levels by the end of 2020.

    However, perceptions worsened again from 2021 up to the end of the study period: the proportion who thought e-cigarettes were more harmful increased to a new high, and the proportion who thought e-cigarettes were less harmful decreased to levels comparable to those in late 2019.

    As a result, in June 2023, the perception that e-cigarettes were equally as harmful as cigarettes was the most commonly held view among adults who smoke, with roughly similar proportions perceiving e-cigarettes to be less and more harmful.

  • England’s Ports Seeing Boost in Fake Vapes

    England’s Ports Seeing Boost in Fake Vapes

    The number of potentially unsafe disposable vapes being seized at English Channel ports has risen “dramatically,” according to trading standards.

    More than 300,000 of the counterfeit products had been seized during December, Kent Trading Standards said, according to the BBC.

    “A lot of our work has been focused on retail outlets, but this is now higher up the supply chain,” James Whiddett, spokesperson for KTS, said. “We’re stopping these devices, which may have about 10 times the legal limit of nicotine in them.”

    He said the current legal limit on the tank on disposable vapes is 2 mL, which is the equivalent of 600 puffs.

    “The products which we’re seeing coming into the country at the moment have 3,500 puffs on them and some have 7,000 puffs, so they are illegal and cannot be supplied to anyone,” he said.

    Whiddett said the demand for disposable vapes had risen dramatically over the last nine months.

    “The flavors, the fact that people don’t have to put their own liquids in, means it’s convenient and easy,” he said. “We’re not sure where these illegal vapes were going, and our investigations are ongoing.”

    Gillian Golden, CEO of the Independent British Vape Trade Association, said noncompliant vape products are also associated with noncompliant sales, “often to underage consumers.”

    She said the association would continue to assist trading standards over noncompliant vaping products.