illions of illicit e-cigarettes have been seized by buying and selling requirements departments for the reason that starting of 2020, an investigation has revealed.

Freedom of data requests from The Guardian to 125 native authorities uncovered greater than 2.5 million unlawful and doubtlessly dangerous vapes have been collected during the last three years.

More than 1,350,000 vapes have been seized by buying and selling requirements at Hillingdon Borough Council in west London alone because of the space’s proximity to Heathrow – a serious port of entry for the unlawful commerce.

These illicit e-cigarettes don't adjust to UK authorized laws, which means they might have greater nicotine focus ranges, include banned components or have outsized tanks for nicotine liquid.

We know that authorized compliant vapes pose a fraction of the danger of smoking however we have no idea what the danger is from unlawful vapes

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It has additionally been discovered that unlawful vapes can include excessive ranges of lead, nickel and chromium.

Kate Pike, lead officer on the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, advised The Guardian the figures have been the “tip of the iceberg”.

She stated: “There is a significant number of illegal products on the market, which does not help when we are trying to support public health response which is to ensure the products are much safer than tobacco for smokers looking to quit.

“The main concern is that young people are getting their hands on these products… We do not want children or adults getting addicted to something at all like this.

“We know that legal compliant vapes pose a fraction of the risk of smoking but we do not know what the risk is from illegal vapes.”

Earlier this month, NHS leaders sounded the alarm over an increase within the variety of youngsters admitted to hospital for vaping.

The NHS stated 40 youngsters and younger folks have been admitted to hospital in England final yr because of “vaping-related disorders”, up from 11 two years earlier than.

Paediatricians have additionally warned that “youth vaping is fast becoming an epidemic among children” as they known as on the Government to ban disposable vapes.

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson advised The Guardian: “It is illegal to sell nicotine vapes to children and we are concerned about the recent rises in youth vaping, particularly because of the unknown long-term harms.

“We are taking bold action to end this practice through the £3m Illicit Vapes Enforcement Squad, which will tackle products imported and traded illicitly, remove illegal products from the market that don’t comply with our regulations, and tackle underage sales to children.

“We have also launched a call for evidence to identify opportunities to reduce the number of children accessing and using vape products and explore where the government can go further.

“The call for evidence has now closed, and the government will be considering a range of options based on the evidence provided.”