Herefordshire Council Trading Standards are warning retailers to ensure all disposable e-cigarettes, liquids, and vaping devices sold meet UK legal requirements.

In the last three months, trading standards officers have seized over £24,000 worth of illegal disposable e-cigarettes and liquids from shops in Herefordshire.

Vaping devices and e-liquids are highly regulated by the government to control the amount of nicotine available and must be approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The legal UK limit on nicotine content in disposable electronic cigarettes is no more than two per cent (20mg per ml) and must not exceed 2ml in capacity (around 600 puffs).

The majority of the disposable products seized contained oversized tanks, with the most common type being 1,500 and 3,500 puff ‘bars’. A 1,500 puff bar is the equivalent of smoking approximately 125 cigarettes.

Officers also seized a number of disposable vapes offering 12,000 puffs.