Trading standards officers are stepping up their efforts to crack down on the sale of illegal vaping products across Derbyshire. 

Since June last year, more than 8,000 illegal items have been seized by Derbyshire County Council's trading standards team from around 60 local businesses. 

Complaints from the public about traders selling non-compliant products has also risen five-fold in the past year. 

The team have already diverted resources from other areas of work to try to tackle the issue in the county and clamp down on the illegal trade and under-age sales of such products. 

DCC’s Cabinet Member for Health and Communities, Councillor Carol Hart, said officers were working tirelessly but it was a huge task, in the county and nationally, due to the influx of illegal products. 

“These products can be illegal for a number of reasons, including the strength and content of the product, and that means that many of them could pose a health risk. 

“It’s our job to protect consumers and also legitimate traders and we are putting in as many resources as we can to try to tackle this problem.  

“Rest assured the team are doing all they can and we’re asking people to continue to report any concerns they may have, and they will be investigated.” 

The current regulations specify that vapes are required to have tanks to a capacity of no more than 2ml; a nicotine strength of no more than 20mg/ml; and their labels should display manufacturer details and health warnings.  

Any vapes that have contents exceeding these amounts are illegal products and should not be sold to consumers. 

To report any issues to trading standards people should contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 2231133 or go to the Citizens Advice website.

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