Dear Resident

You might not have seen on our Facebook page that more than 3,000 illegal vapes have been seized in Sandwell thanks to a multi-agency crackdown on selling counterfeit vapes and tobacco.

Since January 1 2024, Sandwell Council’s Trading Standards have seized around 3,200 vapes, 127,300 cigarettes and 23 pouches of shisha. This significant haul totals to a retail value of more than £100,000.

West Midlands Police are working with Sandwell Council Trading Standards to identify shops in the area that are selling counterfeit products and taking action to disrupt and stop their illegal activity.

This includes conducting intelligence-based inspections, seizing counterfeit products and pursuing closure orders on stores that persistently ignore the law.

Shop owners who choose to sell illegal products will often hide them in secretive places such as under floor boards, behind walls and in loft spaces.

During target enforcement activity at a number of stores in Sandwell earlier this year, officers found a haul of vapes hidden in a hidden loft hatch which was sniffed out by a tobacco sniffer dog.

However, some shop owners are more brazen than others as officers found hundreds of vapes and cigarettes displayed in plain sight behind the counter of another store.

Trading Standards investigations are ongoing.

Disposable vapes must have a tank capacity of no more than 2ml and no more than 650 puffs. It is likely that anything over 650 puffs will contain more than the legal volume limit and so should not be on sale.

The NHS website has information on the myths and facts of vaping.