Stockport Trading Standards officers seize £80,000 of illegal vapes

Stockport Council’s Trading Standards officers have seized £80,000 of illegal single-use vapes as part of a joint operation with Greater Manchester Police (GMP).

The high visibility exercise in Stockport town centre and Edgeley took place on Thursday 21st September and saw vapes seized from three retailers, which contained more than the legal limit of liquid in the chamber, with some also showing incorrect health warnings. Action the following week in partnership with GMP officers from Stockport’s West Neighbourhood Policing Team seized hundreds more illegal vapes from one shop.

The day of action was in response to concerns from the local community and took place around the Peel Centre, Merseyway, St Petersgate and Edgeley. The exercise forms part of Operation Rimini: a dedicated response to tackling reports of offences in Stockport town centre including theft, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.

Cllr Frankie Singleton, Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture & Sport, said:

“There is no place for unscrupulous vape sellers in Stockport. Unregulated vapes are deliberately and dangerously targeted at young people, damaging their health. Whilst the move away from smoking tobacco cigarettes by our youngsters is welcome news, there is clearly a new challenge with preventing their access to vapes.

“The seizures by our Trading Standards team, with our GMP partners, of such a high number of illegal, single use, brightly coloured and fruity flavoured vapes indicates the scale of the problem. High capacity vapes which include more than 2 ml of liquid or deliver more than 600 puffs cannot be sold in this country and we are totally committed to removing them from our neighbourhoods.”

Sergeant James Senior, of GMP’s Stockport Central Neighbourhood Policing Team, said:

“This was another great day with lots of positive feedback from the community and partners; particularly pleasing was the partnership approach.

“These days of action are all about arresting people and taking a zero-tolerance approach to those who conduct retail crime and anti-social behaviour in the town centre.

“Our partnership work with Trading Standards and Stockport Council’s enforcement officers meant we were able to conduct premises visits and take a huge amount of illegal vapes off the streets.

“By working in this partnership, we can all help to make Stockport a safer place for people to visit and enjoy.”

Recent research commissioned by Trading Standards North West has shown that the percentage of children smoking tobacco cigarettes in Stockport has halved since 2017. During the same time however, vaping amongst young people has more than trebled. In the research, 70% of teenagers that claim to vape said they have used disposable (single use) vapes. Over a third said they vaped because they like the flavours, it’s cheaper than smoking and they are easier to obtain than tobacco cigarettes.

The government also just launched a consultation on single use, disposable vapes on Thursday, 12th October.

Director of Public Health for Stockport, Jilla Burgess-Allen, said:

“E-cigarettes are safer than smoking tobacco and are a good cigarette replacement for those trying to quit but, our message is clear, if you don’t smoke, don’t start smoking or vaping.”