Large haul of illegal cigarettes, vapes and tobacco valued at £33k seized in Portsmouth

Portsmouth City Council trading standards officers have recently conducted several inspections to tackle the issue of fake cigarettes and oversized disposable e-cigarettes across the city. Raids were carried out in North End and Fratton.

Inspections have resulted in seizures of over £33,000 worth of stock. A total of 500 cigarette packs, 2.5kg of hand rolling tobacco, and over 2,400 vapes were confiscated. fake duplicates of well-known tobacco brands were among them, where the contents are not regulated and are deemed as unsafe.

Portsmouth City Council said selling these products puts the public's health at even greater risk, undermines the work of stop smoking services and is stealing trade from legitimate businesses. E-cigarettes, or vapes, are classed as illegal if they break the regulations on labelling and ingredients.

A vape can only hold 2ml of liquid by law - the equivalent of 600 puffs. Many of these products contain enough fluid for 15,000 puffs, 25 times the legal limit. Councillor Matthew Winnington, cabinet member for community wellbeing, health and care, said: “The marketing of illegal disposable vapes with designs and flavours that could appeal to children is unacceptable, and it is these vapes that are the most affordable and easily accessible to children.

“While vaping is an effective aid to help adult smokers stop smoking, children should never vape. The long-term health impacts of vaping are unknown and the nicotine contained within them can be highly addictive."

People can report the sale of illicit products to [email protected] and report incidents anonymously by calling 0300 999 6 999. The public can also submit reports to www.stop-illegal-tobacco.co.uk.