More than a million illegal vapes were seized by Trading Standards in 2023/2024, new data released from National Trading Standards (NTS) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) shows.
New data from a first-of-its kind operation* tracking the sale of illicit vapes and underage sales shows:
- 1.19 million illegal vapes seized by Trading Standards in 2023-24, a 59% increase.
- 299,224 vapes confiscated in Q4 2023-24 alone.
- 24% of test purchases in Q4 2023-24 resulted in illegal sales of vapes to children.
- A second operation** seized 46 million illicit cigarettes and 12,600kg of hand-rolling tobacco in the last three years.
More than a million illegal vapes were seized by Trading Standards in 2023/2024, new data released today from National Trading Standards (NTS) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) shows.
A joint initiative named Operation Joseph has tracked over 1.19 million illegal vapes removed from sale across England, a 59% increase in the number seized compared to the previous year. The products seized failed to meet basic UK safety standards, with most containing excess nicotine levels.
New data also shines a spotlight on sales of vapes to children. In Q4 2023-24, almost a quarter (24%) of the 775 test purchases conducted in-person by Trading Standards resulted in illegal sales to under 18s.
Meanwhile, Operation CeCe — a joint initiative between NTS and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) running since 2021 — continues to disrupt the illicit tobacco trade. In 2023-24, over 19 million illicit cigarettes and more than 5,103 kg of hand-rolling tobacco worth £11.7 million were seized by Trading Standards. Since the operation started three years ago, 46 million illicit cigarettes and 12,600kg of hand-rolling tobacco have been seized, disrupting the illegal trade which undermines efforts to drive down smoking rates – including taxation policies.
“The protection of communities, public health and the safeguarding of honest businesses who are struggling to compete with the flood of illegal products lies at the heart of what Trading Standards does,” said Lord Michael Bichard, Chair of National Trading Standards.
“Trading Standards has seized nearly 1.2 million illegal vapes and more than £26 million worth of illicit tobacco so far. But the reality is further action is necessary to remove more illegal – and in many cases dangerous – products from sale.
Richard Las, Director, HMRC Fraud Investigation Service, said:
“Illicit tobacco undermines legitimate retailers, funds wider crime, and harms public health while depriving our vital public services of around £2.2 billion a year.
“We will continue to work with partners like trading standards to tackle this organised criminal trade that harms our communities. These criminals don’t care who they sell to including children.
“We urge anyone with information about the smuggling, distribution or sale of illicit tobacco to report it online.”
Kate Pike, Lead Officer for Tobacco and Vaping for the Chartered Trading Standards Institute said:
“Trading Standards officers recognise that it is really important that adult smokers are able to switch to legal compliant vaping products which carry a fraction of the risk of their lethal tobacco habit. These figures show we are working incredibly hard to remove illegal vapes from our communities and to support businesses not to sell to children. We encourage anyone with information about businesses ignoring the law to report to us so we can continue to target our enforcement resources most effectively.”
Minister for Public Health and Prevention Andrew Gwynne said:
“This shows just how many illegal and harmful vapes are on our streets, putting consumers and children at risk. To further crack down on illicit trade of tobacco products and vapes, we are investing an extra £10 million to keep these harmful products out of the hands of kids.
“The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will strengthen enforcement activity, allowing Trading Standards to take swifter action to enforce the law, including on non-compliant products, and closing loopholes.”
Notes to Editors
For more information, please contact the National Trading Standards Press Office by emailing press@nationaltradingstandards.co.uk or calling 020 7101 5013.
*Operation Joseph
Operation Joseph is a government funded project to tackle specific aspects of enforcement and compliance around the sale of vaping products including collating national data on enforcement, supporting local authorities to increase enforcement activity, targeted testing and port seizure work. The project is led by National Trading Standards and key areas of work include:
Enabling the collection of detailed information on enforcement from local authorities to help inform government policy and better understand emerging trends in the vape sector. This is the first time data has been collected on a national level
Supporting local authorities to increase enforcement work e.g. by assisting with storage and disposal of illicit vaping products, increasing regional and national intelligence analysis and providing a Vaping Expert Panel to unravel technical and legal barriers
Assessing compliance with age restriction laws by businesses who sell vapes online
Carrying out compliance testing on a range of products that have been notified to the MHRA
Stopping illegal products getting on to the UK market by stopping them at key ports.
Operation Joseph is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). It has been running since July 2023 and is funded until March 2025.
Core work to tackle the sale of vapes to children and remove illegal vapes from retail sale is carried out locally by local authority Trading Standards services using their own funding. Operation Joseph adds to and complements this work.
**Operation CeCe
Launched in January 2021, Operation CeCe is a joint initiative between National Trading Standards (NTS) and HMRC aimed at tackling the illicit tobacco trade. In its first three years, more than 46 million illegal cigarettes and 12,600 kg of hand-rolling tobacco were seized, preventing over £26 million in illicit products from being sold.This operation disrupts not only street-level sales but also supply chains tied to organised crime, including smuggling and illegal manufacturing. Operation CeCe has already saved £8.75 in public harm for every £1 spent. Funding for this activity is secured until March 2025.
About National Trading Standards
National Trading Standards delivers national and regional consumer protection enforcement. Its Board is made up of senior and experienced heads of local government trading standards from around England and Wales with an independent Chair. Its purpose is to protect consumers and safeguard legitimate businesses by tackling serious national and regional consumer protection issues and organised criminality and by providing a “safety net” to limit unsafe consumer goods entering the UK and protecting food supplies by ensuring the animal feed chain is safe.