West Lothian Courier

572 dodgy vapes destroyed after trade crackdown

- DEBBIE HALL

Hundreds of“illegal and potentiall­y dangerous vapes”have been seized after tip-offs from the public.

Following a public appeal, seven premises were identified as potentiall­y selling illegal vaping products in the area.

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-compliant and potentiall­y unsafe nicotine vaping products.

In total 572 vapes were destroyed following recent seizures by Trading Standards.

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.

These vapes have been added to the previous seizure and have been sent to specialist company Destruct to be disposed.

Elements of the products are re-cycled where possible following the destructio­n process. The plastic body of the vapes are crushed and remoulded into numerous items depending on the quality of the plastic. The re-cycled elements create everything from small statues to garden furniture and children playing apparatus.

Metal components, including aluminium, are recycled and generally used for building constructi­on parts.

West Lothian Council would like to thank everyone who took the time to get 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 https://www.westlothia­n. gov.uk/article/49071/ Report-a-Trading-StandardsI­ssue-Anonymousl­y or by emailing tradingsta­ndards@ westlothia­n.gov.uk.

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Hundreds of potentiall­y dangerous vapes were discovered
Seized Hundreds of potentiall­y dangerous vapes were discovered

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