{"id":69782,"date":"2026-03-26T13:51:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T13:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/?p=69782"},"modified":"2026-03-26T14:14:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T14:14:40","slug":"illegal-vapes-flood-sheffield-market-as-45000-seized-in-six-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/03\/26\/illegal-vapes-flood-sheffield-market-as-45000-seized-in-six-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Illegal vapes flood Sheffield market as 45,000 seized in six years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

More than 45,000 illegal vapes have been seized by Sheffield City Council over the past six years, with an estimated value of over \u00a3500,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The findings, revealed in a Freedom of Information request by Midland Health<\/a>, reported by the Sheffield Star, come amid growing concerns over counterfeit vaping products. Tests on seized items have identified dangerous metals, including nickel, copper and cadmium, raising further serious health concerns among experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent spike in stores selling illegal smoking products has caused a drop in sales for legitimate suppliers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Megan Riley, works at Only the Vape on Glossop Road, said rogue traders are undercutting trusted retailers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said: \u201cThe vape market is already oversaturated, and many sellers are offering illegal products because they\u2019re cheaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat directly affects us, because people would rather buy that than pay for the authentic ones.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Counterfeit vapes are often illegally imported and not subject to UK safety testing, raising serious health concerns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t know what\u2019s in them,\u201d Miss Riley said. \u201cThey\u2019re not batch-tested in the UK, so they can contain harmful chemicals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She believes that more public awareness is needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said: \u201cI don\u2019t think people realise how harmful they can be. Many of our products are made in the UK, whereas illegal ones are often produced in back warehouses overseas and you don\u2019t know what\u2019s in them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some counterfeit vapes have been linked to conditions such as Popcorn Lung, further damaging confidence in the industry and raising wider concerns about consumer safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201dIt makes the whole industry look ridiculous,\u201d Miss Riley said. \u201cPeople lose trust in the industry, which damages legitimate businesses.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In October 2025, new government regulations made it a legal requirement for retailers to hold a licence to sell vapes, tobacco and nicotine products, in an effort to tackle illegal sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miss Riley welcomed the changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said: \u201cI think the way the government are cracking down on counterfeit products is a good thing, I\u2019ve seen several vape shops in Sheffield close down due to selling illegal products, and I think that\u2019s a positive step.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, Health Minister Stephen Kinnock said the policy aimed to \u201cclose a major gap in the law\u201d and strengthen regulation of the sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Concerns grow over counterfeit products as local legitimate retailers feel the impact of rising illegal sales. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":771,"featured_media":69791,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27,21],"tags":[15,38,141,131],"class_list":["post-69782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","category-news","tag-news","tag-sheffield","tag-sheffield-city-council","tag-south-yorkshire"],"yoast_head":"\nIllegal vapes flood Sheffield market as 45,000 seized in six years - ShefNews<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/03\/26\/illegal-vapes-flood-sheffield-market-as-45000-seized-in-six-years\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Illegal vapes flood Sheffield market as 45,000 seized in six years - 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