Illegal vapes worth thousands of pounds have been seized from York shops.
City of York Council trading standards executed Operation Hunter, targeting businesses selling oversized e-cigarettes.
These are are non-compliant because they contain more than 2ml of nicotine liquid.
During the two-day operation, trading standards seized 1,096 non-compliant e-cigarettes from three city centre businesses – worth £13,152.
In a separate operation, trading standards carried out a series of underage test purchases. One business in York was caught selling to a child.
It is illegal to sell vapes to anyone under the age of 18 years old.
These businesses in York were specifically targeted after complaints from members of the public or intelligence from the police and other agencies.
Cllr Jo Coles, executive member for health, said: “High levels of nicotine in illegal vapes can be really damaging to our health, and no vapes are suitable for children, so it’s really worrying that shops in York have been selling them, and selling vapes to under 18s.
“Illegal vapes have no place in our city and we must ensure our children are protected from them. Huge thanks to our trading standards team and the public who raised the alarm about this.”
Matt Boxall, head of public protection at City of York Council, said: “We will always act on information from the public and will ensure that any items being sold illegally are removed from sale.
“The message to businesses in York is ‘don’t sell them here’. If you do, we will seize them.”
If you have concerns about what you suspect to be illegal activity, you can email [email protected] visit the website or report via the Citizens Advice Consumer helpline on 0808 2231133.
