Kent Councillor warns that illegal vape 'genie out of the bottle'
The rates of illegal nicotine purchasing has increased over the last few years
Research led by University College London (UCL) and funded by Cancer Research UK (CRUK) analysed survey data from nearly 10,000 smokers aged 16 and over.
Findings indicate 23.1% of respondents reported buying tobacco illegally at least once in the previous six months, compared to 12.2% in 2023.
Despite these figures, researchers state the overall size of the illicit tobacco market has not grown.
Participants acquiring tobacco from friends, pubs, street vendors, and under-the-counter sales in newsagents account for nearly a quarter of survey responses.
While many smokers turn to legal cheaper products or attempt to quit, illicit purchases have become a cost-cutting measure.
Alarmingly, 16 to 17-year-olds reported buying tobacco from corner shops.
The study's findings come as discussions around the Tobacco and Vapes Bill aim to reduce teenage access through an increasing age-of-sale policy.
Researchers, including Prof Jamie Brown, clarify the growth in illicit purchases does not necessarily equate to an expanded illicit market.
Importantly, HM Revenue and Customs figures indicate nearly two billion illegal cigarettes seized in the last year alone.
While the Tobacco and Vapes Act seeks to protect future generations, sustained investment is crucial.
As the findings publish in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, Hazel Cheeseman from Ash warns against governmental complacency, advocating for ongoing monitoring and prevention efforts.
Local Response
Tony Harwood is a councillor in Maidstone who has campaigned against vapes before:
"The government have just introduced the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026. Last June, they banned the sale of non-rechargeable vapes.
"But effectively, it's made no difference. When I'm on my litter picks, instead of picking up disposable vapes,
"I'm now picking up non-disposable vapes because people are still buying the big fat barrel ones that you could in theory recharge or you could in theory put a new unit in them.
"But the reality is they're a throwaway commodity that people, when they've finished and they run out, they're not going to bother with taking it home or recharging it, they just chuck it away.
"I think the genie is out of the bottle and it's very, very difficult to use prohibition to tackle something.
"I just wish that government and regulatory agencies had woken up to the threat that vapes posed much earlier."
On the amount of dangers of illegal purchases he added:
"I think the other issue there's naivety about is just the scale of unofficial sales and the black market of just how many high nicotine vapes which are not approved, but they still get into this country in huge numbers.
"Like all of the other illegal drugs and so on that we see.
"So it's very easy to ship large quantities of whether it be under the counter tobacco or whether it be under the counter vapes. And I think the problem was not intervening earlier and preventing that targeting of young people.
"There are a number of public health issues there. One is around things like fire testing on vapes, and we have seen them kind of catch fire in people's pockets and in houses and so on, particularly whilst they're being recharged and there's electric current going in so there is an overt risk through that route.
"There is also the risk about with under the count of apes, very high levels of nicotine where one, it's more addictive, you can start to reach toxicity levels, which are a challenge for the human body to deal with."
Rebranding Packaging
In a related crackdown, plans unveiled in the UK on 10th July propose plain packaging and restrictions on vape marketing targeted at children.
With colourful packaging cited as a factor motivating youth vaping, the consultation includes standardised packaging and retail display limitations.