More than four million illegal vapes seized at border

As government announces plans to ban disposable vapes and reduce vaping among children, campaigners say success relies on “a thought through intelligence-led strategy”

More than 4.5m illegal vapes have been seized over the past 12 months, four times more than in 2022, according to figures obtained by the BBC following a Freedom of Information request.

The figures indicate a steep rise in vape usage. In 2021, UK Border Force seized just 4,430 vapes, rising to 988,064 in 2022, and 4.54m from January to October 2023.

Illegal e-cigarettes often have higher nicotine concentration levels, contain banned ingredients or have oversized tanks for nicotine liquid. Many also contain high levels of lead, nickel and chromium.

The BBC figures coincide with a bid to reduce vaping by children. The government has announced plans to ban disposable vapes, to restrict sweet and fruity flavours, introduce plain packaging and to make sales displays less prominent in shops. It will also become illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009.

Government statistics show that 69% of those using disposable vapes are aged 11 to 17 (up from 7.7% in 2021).

Dr Mike McKean, VP for Policy, The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said he was delighted that the government is “prioritising the health and well-being of our children and the planet”.

He said: “Smoking remains the single biggest cause of preventable illness and disease in the UK. But the research and data around widespread e-cigarette use is still very much in its infancy. The long-term impacts, especially for children and young people, remain unknown.”

Deborah Arnott, Chief Executive of Action on Smoking and Health called the announcements a “vital stepping stone on the path to ending the smoking epidemic once and for all”.

She said: “Smoking has caused more deaths than obesity, alcohol, road traffic accidents, illegal drugs and HIV combined, and each year kills more people than COVID did at the height of the pandemic.”

However, she warned: "If disposable vapes are banned then Border Force and HM Revenue and Customs will have a much bigger job to do. Throwing money at the problem is not enough, stopping illegal vapes at the border, inland and at point of sale requires a thought through intelligence-led strategy.”

Bob Blackman MP, Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Smoking and Health said that the APPG had repeatedly called on government to take much tougher action. He said: “The devil will be in the detail, so we will need to scrutinise the legislation.”

 “…while banning disposables might seem like a straightforward solution to reduce youth vaping, it could have substantial unintended consequences for people who smoke.”

Another concern was highlighted by Dr Sarah Jackson of UCL’s Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care. She said that the results of a recent study suggested that a ban on disposable e-cigarettes would affect an estimated 2.6 million people in England, Wales and Scotland.

She added that smoking prevalence has been falling steadily among adults in England for more than 20 years but that UCL data shows that this decline has stalled. “So, while banning disposables might seem like a straightforward solution to reduce youth vaping, it could have substantial unintended consequences for people who smoke.

“In the event of a ban, it would be important to encourage current and ex-smokers who use disposables to switch to other types of e-cigarettes rather than going back to just smoking tobacco.”

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