UK Vaping Industry Association demands ‘tough action’ to combat sales of illegal disposable vape products

A UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) investigation has uncovered ‘a significant amount’ of non-compliant disposable vape products entering the UK.

It says the illegal products are mainly being sold by convenience shops and on major online marketplaces.

The UKVIA, the UK’s largest vaping trade body, concluded that there was ‘growing evidence of illicit and inappropriately branded vaping products hitting the UK market in the trending disposable vape sector.’

Key points include:

• Illegal disposable vape products are being widely sold across the UK and are available on some of the best known online marketplaces.

• Some retailers are flouting UK laws and selling products that do not comply with UK regulations on nicotine content

• The UKVIA is asking that a hard line be taken against unscrupulous resellers and retailers and is in active discussions with the Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Trading Standards to address this problem

Director General John Dunne said: “We are calling upon regulators and the online marketplaces to robustly enforce current regulations and do much more in order to ‘clean up’ the disposable vapes market.

“Robust enforcement of the current regulations is the only answer and it’s needed now.

“We can provide support to the regulators and educate the industry on how to distinguish between what’s a compliant product or not; and we are in the process of doing this.”

Disposable vapes are pre-filled with e-liquids and cost around £6 each. UK regulations mean they should contain no more than 20mg/ml of nicotine, yet evidence collected by the UKVIA reveals that some listed as this amount contain higher concentrations of nicotine and some products are being openly sold with 50mg/ml strength.

Furthermore, product packaging is not including warnings about the nicotine content, which is a legal requirement.

Dunne added: “From Guildford to Manchester, our investigation reveals that illegal and counterfeit products are flooding into the market and consequently pose a potential health risk to customers.”

For the full press release on headline, please visit the UKVIA website.

Other posts about UKVIA:

• UKVIA backs efforts to defund anti-vaping WHO
• UKVIA announces ‘Blueprint for Better Regulations’ ahead of TRPR review
• UKVIA to outline its vision for vape regulation in Post-Brexit Britain