Following information received from members of the public, the council's Trading Standards team have confiscated a number of vaping and tobacco products.
These products are not registered with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), so have not passed through their quality control processes. This means they could contain harmful chemicals or high levels of nicotine.
Anyone with information on illegal vapes being sold can report it anonymously at Report a Trading Standards Issue Anonymously or by emailing tradingstandards@westlothian.gov.uk (opens new window)
Executive councillor for public and community safety Craig Meek said: "Illegal vapes are a genuine danger to health, as there are no controls in place to make sure they do not contain harmful chemicals.
"Our dedicated Trading Standards team make every effort to protect West Lothian residents by making sure potentially dangerous items like this are not available for sale.
"It also prevents consumers buying potentially substandard products and stops money being diverted from legitimate local businesses selling genuine MHRA authorised products.
"We would encourage all West Lothian residents not to buy illegal vapes or tobacco, and let our Trading Standards team know if they spot them for sale, or have any further information on those involved."
How to easily spot illegal vapes and vape products
- Check the number of puffs printed on the vape/label
- the maximum tank size is 2ml. This is equivalent to 600-650 puffs for disposables with single tanks.
Multi chamber tanks still require to be a maximum of 2ml per tank.
Products advertising significantly more usage than this are potentially illegal
- Check the health warnings
- in the UK the warning must cover 30% of the front and back of the pack
- the health warning must read "This product contains nicotine which is a highly addictive substance". Use of the word 'chemical' is only used in the USA market. In the UK we use 'substance'.
- Check for nicotine content
- the product must indicate the nicotine content and delivery per dose
- the maximum e-liquid capacity is 2ml per tank
- the maximum nicotine strength is 20mg (2%)
- Check the manufacturers details
- the vape packaging must contain the manufacturer or importer name and contact details
- the manufacturer or importer must be registered on the MHRA website (opens new window)
