- Undercover filming shows illegal vapes being sold in shops, on social media and from car boots
- Young people say it is easy to access banned products, often via Snapchat or friends
- One in five stores visited sold illegal vapes despite strict rules
- Experts warn weak enforcement risks undermining trust and fuelling a growing black market
A new undercover documentary has exposed how easily illegal vapes can be bought across Belgium, raising fresh concerns about enforcement and the rapid growth of an unregulated market.
The short film, “Just No Reason”, follows investigators as they track down sellers, speak to young people, and confront policymakers with evidence that banned products remain widely available.
“They keep appearing everywhere”
The film opens with a shocking assessment of the scale of the issue, showing brightly coloured, high-nicotine disposable vapes that are banned under Belgian law.
The narrator says: “Vapes with colour. Vapes with lights and games. Vapes in all shapes and sizes. One thing they have in common. They are illegal. Yet they keep appearing everywhere.”
Despite enforcement efforts, the documentary notes that “in Belgium alone, 140,000 illegal vapes were seized in 2025” – adding that this is “just the tip of the iceberg”.
Easy access for young people
Teenagers interviewed in the film describe how simple it is to obtain illegal products, often through informal networks.
“I started vaping when I was 15,” a teenage girl called Charlotte says. “I’m 15 and I’ve been vaping for two and a half years.”
Others say supply routes include nightlife venues, friends and social media platforms. “I then got my vapes from friends who received them, or dealers who shared them on Snapchat,” says Charlotte.
The appeal of colourful designs and flavours is also highlighted. “We usually buy the vapes with a lot more colour and with drawings on them, because that’s just more attractive,” Charlotte adds.
Shops still selling banned products
While many retailers follow the rules, undercover visits found that some continue to sell illegal vapes and other prohibited nicotine products.
“In one out of five shops, we were able to buy illegal vapes,” the documentary explains.
In some cases, sellers openly acknowledged the ban but pointed buyers elsewhere. “You can buy it in nightclubs,” said one seller. Others admitted demand had increased since restrictions tightened. “Because they have abolished it, it’s so much more fun to do sneaky things,” one explained.
Social media and delivery networks driving trade
The investigation found that online platforms are playing a major role in the illegal market, with dealers using messaging apps to connect with buyers.
Posing as customers, the filmmakers quickly made contact with a seller offering bulk quantities.
“I can deliver if you take 10 or 20 bucks,” he said. “That’s possible. Yeah, of course. We have all.” The dealer also described the scale of demand, saying: “It’s a big business.”
The documentary highlights how transactions can be completed using mainstream payment methods and standard delivery services, making enforcement more difficult.
Enforcement struggles and “back doors wide open”
A cancer specialist interviewed in the film warns that unregulated products could pose serious risks. “It’s very bad because I think young people don’t realise that they are buying something that is going to harm them deeply,” Filip Lardon says, adding that some illegal vapes contain “a fairly high dosage of nicotine”. In one case, a device analysed contained nicotine “equivalent to 400 cigarettes”. The film also raises concerns that “synthetic drugs” are appearing in some liquids, underlining the uncertainty around what users may be inhaling.
Retailers and experts interviewed in the film warn that current enforcement is failing to keep pace with the scale of the problem. “The credibility of a government is.. lacking in enforcing its own rules,” one said.
Shopkeeper Peter Laurysen describes how illegal products are even passing through legitimate retail spaces. “Recently, two large quantities of nicotine sticks have been delivered to customers in a bundle. Up to twelve full boxes,” he says. “Under my nose it goes in and out. In my store. And then you feel very small.”
Calls for stronger action – and better regulation
The documentary raises questions about whether current policies are inadvertently fuelling the black market. Some experts argue that simply tightening restrictions without effective enforcement risks pushing more consumers towards illegal supply.
“Immediately stop the illegal circuit,” said one. “And make it a legal circuit in the first place. In order to control and regulate the purchase and sale to a minimum.”
Others stress the need for coordinated action across Europe to prevent cross-border trade. One expert argues that Belgium’s efforts are being undermined by differences between national rules across the EU. “Ideally, you’d choose a European approach, which is the same in all Member States,” he says. “And there you see a bit too much divergence today.” In “an open economy like the European one”, he adds, it is “much too easy to move from one country to another with products”.
Others warn that overly restrictive rules could have unintended consequences for adults who have switched away from smoking. Jens Houtmeyers says: “I would also find it very unfortunate that all the people who have switched from the normal cigarettes to the vapes now are going to lose, maybe go back to a cigarette.”
A growing and complex problem
The film concludes that tackling the illegal vape market will require more than isolated crackdowns, pointing to the scale of global supply chains and online sales.
Against what one expert describes as “a tsunami of parcels”, authorities face a significant challenge in identifying and intercepting illegal products.
The film takes its name from the Chinese JNR – “Just No Reason” – brand, which appears widely in the illegal market and is described by filmmakers as targeting young people despite little transparency about who is behind it.
