Sales of illegal and unregulated vapes are rampant in the constituencies of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and health minister Andrew Gwynne, campaign group We Vape has revealed.
During its undercover investigation, researchers were offered a choice from hundreds of non-compliant devices within minutes of Rayner’s Greater Manchester offices in Ashton-under-Lyne, with 10 times the tank sizes, superstrengths and with some marketed to children.
Other stores within Gwynne’s Gorton and Denton constituency even offered menus of dozens of high-strength illegal vapes over the counter.
We Vape said its research proved government plans to introduce more vaping restrictions under the forthcoming Tobacco and Vapes Bill were pointless because authorities are not enforcing laws already in place.
Video footage from Angela Rayner’s constituency in Greater Manchester showed traders’ confidence in not being checked by Trading Standards, which We Vape identified as the most significant deterrent for the black market.
During an undercover visit, We Vape founder Mark Oates was offered vapes with tank sizes of 8000 and 12000 puffs, as well as devices with 5% strength vapes, which is 2.5 times the legal limit of 2%.
When asked if he had other devices, the trader invited the investigator behind the counter where he showed off a treasure trove of illegal products. Some offered 20,000 puffs, the equivalent of more
than 1300 cigarettes. During one purchase, the trader even warned his customer ’be careful with them… some people think they are too strong. Too much… makes you dizzy.”
We Vape founder Mark Oates warned that the black market in illegal vapes is rampant in Manchester and said that Trading Standards are already overwhelmed: “If the current law isn’t being applied, there is no chance they can enforce new ones introduced by the Tobacco and Vapes bill.
“These non-compliant devices I was able to buy should never have got onto the shelves, but instead I found a treasure trove of illegality. There should be a legal requirement for all vapes to be tested and certified as compliant with UK law before they are allowed to go on sale and it is shocking this isn’t already the case.”
“The fact that we could buy illegal vapes so quickly across Greater Manchester, within a stone’s throw of the Deputy Prime Minister and health minister’s own constituency headquarters, shows why government need to act on this while they have the chance.”
We Vape has called for three commitments from Government:
1. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) carries out pre-market checks on all vapes to certify they are compliant with UK laws before they can be sold, to prevent illegal vapes hitting the shelves in the first place.
2. We need a self-funding licensing system where retailers have to pay a fee to sell vapes, with the money used to fund Trading Standards. This model, similar to the alcohol industry, would mean repeat offenders selling illicit products and to minors are hit with massive fines and or shut down.
3. Protection of flavours, which we know help smokers switch from cigarettes.
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