How to identify illegal vaping products

There is an extremely high prevalence of illegal products being sold in the UK. To keep yourself safe, you should only buy vapes from reputable shops, and only buy in legal amounts. It is only legal to buy vapes if you are over 18.

We’ve put together a checklist to help you distinguish between legal and illegal vaping products.

Vapes and pods

A legal vape device will:

  • Have a maximum tank/cartridge size of 2ml. Do not buy devices with tanks larger than this.
  • Contain no more than 600 puffs.
  • Have a maximum nicotine concentration of 20 milligrams per millilitre (mg/ml). This is equal to 2%, or less.
  • Feature a warning label covering at least 30% of the front and back packaging. It must state: “This product contains nicotine which is a highly addictive substance”. If these messages are missing, it is not a legal device.
  • Not contain caffeine or taurine, or certain colourings.
  • Carry a kitemark and CE mark.

Kitemark and CE mark

 

In addition, all vaping devices and e-liquids must be published by the UK Government’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency before they can be sold.

E-liquid refill containers

All legal refills must:

  • Contain no more than 10ml of e-liquid in a single refill container.
  • Have a tank capacity of no more than 2ml.
  • Have a maximum nicotine concentration of 2%, or 20mg/ml.
  • Have a warning label covering at least 30% of the front and back of the packaging saying, “This product contains nicotine which is a highly addictive substance.”
  • Not include caffeine or taurine, or certain colourings.
  • Be child-resistant and tamper-proof.

Other things to check

Make sure the packaging and device are completely sealed and have not been tampered with. If they look damaged, your device may have been swapped for an illegal one, or contain unknown – and dangerous – substances.

The MHRA website contains a list of all registered, legal devices. You can search the directory to check your device is featured.

If you find a retailer stocking illegal devices, or selling nicotine vapes to under-18s, you can report them to local authority Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice website.

As there are so many illegal devices on the market, some manufacturers of legal vapes now include QR codes on the packaging. You can scan this code to take you to a website which confirms this is a legitimate device.

Useful links

•    Vaping and young people
•    Vaping THC: Risks and advice
•    How to quit vaping