‘Nicotine free’ vapes found to contain nicotine

Nicotine free vapes on sale to UK consumers have been found to contain nicotine, the National Trading Standards has warned.

Heart of the South West Trading Standards partnered with teams in Salford and Berkshire to test 76 products sold as ‘nicotine free’ vapes.

More than one in every eight (13.2%) contained nicotine, with amounts ranging from 0.06 mg/ml to 27.02 mg/ml. This is comparable to the nicotine delievered by a pack of 20 cigarettes, said trading standards.

Additionally, ten were also found to exceed the limit on the amount of e-liquid permitted in vapes with two found to exceed both the e-liquid and nicotine strength limit.

As a result, consumers hoping to buy nicotine free products would have been exposed to nicotine and its addictive effects, said Trading Standards.

Alex Fry, operations officer for Heart of the South West Trading Standards, hopes the findings will provide valuable intelligence and help shape the future regulation of cigarettes, tobacco and vapes.

“Nicotine free vapes can be a useful tool to quit smoking and reduce nicotine dependency, but these findings reveal that people can actually continue to be stuck in a cycle of addiction if sold the highly addictive substance unknowingly,” said Lord Michael Bichard, chair of National Trading Standards.

“Businesses should be aware vapes falsely claiming to be nicotine free are in circulation and should make sure they are not breaking the law by selling products that are falsely advertised, especially where they are importing goods or acting as the main UK distributor.”

He urged businesses and consumers to be vigilant and report suspected cases to the Citizens Advice consumer service by calling 0808 223 1133.

Asli Ertonguc, head of BAT UK & Western Europe, said this data reveals the unacceptable, but also avoidable, reality that not all vaping products arriving in the UK are what they say they are.

“There is currently no legal requirement for manufacturers to certify the contents of their products with lab testing before sending them to the UK for sale. As a result, only good faith stands between product makers and their consumers. Sadly, some manufacturers cannot be taken at their word.

“This data clearly shows the requirement of pre-market testing of products to ensure they are manufactured in line with UK laws,” he said.

Ertonguc added that “thankfully there is an easy fix” by including a pre-market testing in the Tobacco and Vape bill - which is currently being debated in Parliament.