Hampshire Trading Standards seized 58,000 counterfeit vapes and tobacco over last year
We're hearing the products are often disguised under fake branding
Last updated 7th Jan 2026
We're hearing 58,000 counterfeit vapes and tobacco's been seized from Hampshire over the last year.
Richard Strawson's Hampshire's Head of Trading Standards and is telling us they often find vape products to be disguised under fake branding.
He's telling us what they're seeing.
He said: "We do a lot of work detecting counterfeit unsafe vapes.
"Vape products are very carefully controlled for safety, and unfortunately, counterfeiters take advantage of the large demand for vapes.
"Quite often what we see is branded products that are branded with sweet brands or other brands that people are familiar with as a marketing tool.
"But these are counterfeit, illegally produced and they're illegally using the brand of a well-known drinks company or something like that.
"So we go into the shops, have a look at the vape products, and make sure they're legally compliant but quite often we'll also pick up products that have got these counterfeit brands on, too, to remove them from the marketplace."
Mr Strawson's telling us the dangers around counterfeit vapes.
He said: "What we find is now they have lithium batteries in them because they're rechargeable, you have to question the safety of those.
"If they're cheaply manufactured, cheaply produced, then they do present a real fire risk if you plug them in to recharge them."