Hundreds of illegal vapes seized by West Lothian Tradiing Standards

Seven premises were identified as potentially selling illegal vaping products.

Officers from the council’s Trading Standards service checked all reported premises and found two that had stock of illicit vapes and removed 213 non-complaint and potentially unsafe nicotine vaping products.

A recycling programme aims to reuse as much of the elements of the vapes – with plastics going into making play park equipment.

As revealed last month, Trading Standards officers raided seven premises across the county.

And as a tip-off line was launched to report dangerous products, a councillor warned customers of a “ genuine danger to health.”

In total, 572 vapes have been destroyed following recent seizures.

These products are not registered with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), so have not passed through their quality control processes. This means they could contain harmful chemicals or high levels of nicotine.

They have been sent to specialist company, Destruct, to be disposed of.

Elements of the products are recycled where possible following the destruction process. Plastic body of the vapes are crushed and re-moulded into numerous items depending on the quality of the plastic. The recycled elements create everything from small statues to garden furniture and childrens’ play apparatus.

Metal components, including aluminium, are re-cycled and generally used for building construction parts.

West Lothian Council thanked everyone who got in touch with Trading Standards.

Executive councillor for public and community safety Craig Meek said: “A massive thank you to everyone who took time to report concerns around potential illicit vapes being sold in our communities.

“The Trading Standards team work tirelessly to protect West Lothian residents by making sure potentially dangerous items like this are not available for sale.

“Your information is vital in helping us ensure these harmful products are not for sale in West Lothian. So please, if you have any concerns, report these concerns to Trading Standards so our team can start investigating as soon as possible.”

Anyone with information on illegal vapes being sold can report it anonymously at www.westlothian.gov.uk/article/49071/Report-a-Trading-Standards-Issue-Anonymously or by emailing [email protected].