Posted on: 6 March 2025
Vital sampling work carried out by Heart of the South West Trading Standards has lifted the lid on the sale of ‘nicotine free’ vapes across the region which actually contain nicotine.
Now these results will be fed back to a number of Government agencies to help shape legislation governing how the products are regulated in future.
The data, published today by National Trading Standards, show that 13 per cent of supposedly nicotine free vapes on sale to consumers across Devon, Somerset, Torbay and Plymouth contained nicotine in varying quantities.
The sampling exercise was all part of Operation Joseph, a Department of Health and Social Care funded initiative which saw Local Authorities working together to unearth new intelligence around the illegal vapes market.
In total 76 products sold as nicotine free vapes were tested by Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service, working together with Trading Standards teams in Salford and Berkshire.
The results revealed that 10 samples (13.2 per cent) contained nicotine in amounts ranging from 0.06 mg/ml to 27.02 mg/ml – around the amount delivered by a pack of 20 cigarettes.
All 10 samples were also found to exceed the limit on the amount of e-liquid permitted in vapes with two found to exceed both the e-liquid and nicotine strength limit.
Alex Fry, Operations Manager for Heart of the South West Trading Standards, said: “We are pleased to have contributed to and helped co-ordinate the sampling of this project. We recognise how important it is for regulators and legislators to have up-to-date intelligence on what products are being supplied to consumers.
“Trading Standards are at the forefront of ensuring products comply with legal requirements and we hope that the findings will provide valuable intelligence and help shape the future regulation of cigarettes, tobacco and vapes.”
Lord Michael Bichard, Chair, National Trading Standards, said: “Nicotine free vapes can be a useful tool to quit smoking and reduce nicotine dependency, but these findings reveal that people can actually continue to be stuck in a cycle of addiction if sold the highly addictive substance unknowingly.
“Businesses should be aware vapes falsely claiming to be nicotine free are in circulation and should make sure they are not breaking the law by selling products that are falsely advertised, especially where they are importing goods or acting as the main UK distributor.”