Luton Trading Standards has seized 539 illegal vapes from two premises in the town, with a promise to crackdown on their sale after they were banned in the country from 1 June 2025.
Single use vapes are not designed or intended for reuse and the only legal vapes that can be sold are those that can be recharged, refilled and have the coil replaced.
Luton Trading Standards has launched a campaign to investigate and prosecute those who sell illicit tobacco and vaping producing products. It continues to clamp down on the sale of illegal vapes and tobacco and will continue to seize any single use vapes found for sale.
Traders are warned that all single use vapes should be removed from display and disposed of responsibly, and those who continue to sell them may face further action which could include prosecution.
In addition to the health impacts, safety issues and common sale to (and use by) children, single use vapes also have a significant impact on the environment. Despite discarded vapes being electrical waste (WEEE), most are simply littered or put in household bins and there have been a number of reported fires caused by lithium batteries.
All vape retailers must have a waste take back bin or similar arrangement in store for customers to return old vapes (including single use vapes), and a waste contract in place for the proper disposal of these.
Councillor Maria Lovell, Portfolio Holder for Trading Standards, said: “Our Trading Standards team continues to be fully committed to preventing the sale of illegal vapes in Luton. Following the ban on single use vapes we won’t hesitate to take action against those who continue to sell them and put our communities at risk.”
Anyone with information on premises and individuals selling and storing illicit tobacco, shisha and vape pens in Luton either from a shop, online, a domestic premises or a vehicle can report it in confidence.
