{"id":25738,"date":"2025-07-29T08:46:58","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T08:46:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/?p=25738"},"modified":"2025-07-29T08:47:01","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T08:47:01","slug":"disposable-ban-fails-to-stick-as-quarter-of-uk-retailers-break-the-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/post\/disposable-ban-fails-to-stick-as-quarter-of-uk-retailers-break-the-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Disposable ban fails to stick as quarter of UK retailers break the law"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nearly one in four UK vape retailers are selling disposable vapes illegally just weeks after they were banned, according to a new investigation.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The findings, published by online nicotine retailer Haypp, show that 23 per cent of shops visited by mystery shoppers were willing to sell disposable vapes – despite a UK-wide ban on their sale from 1 June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis national project involved hiring mystery shoppers to visit 48 different shops across nine UK cities,\u201d Haypp said. \u201cThe shops ranged from independent vape stores and corner shops to large retailers, with the visits taking place between 2 and 6 June.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

London and Glasgow worst offenders<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The investigation found that 11 out of the 48 shops checked (23 per cent) were still selling disposable vapes. Offending retailers were concentrated in Glasgow and London, where four of the six shops visited were willing to sell a disposable vape to the mystery shopper. Other cities with breaches included Birmingham, Nottingham and Sheffield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, the mystery shoppers were unable to buy disposables in Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool or Manchester. \u201cNone of the shops visited in [these cities] sold a disposable vape to the shoppers,\u201d Haypp said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it was mostly independent vape stores that were in breach of the ban, one local outlet of a major national convenience store chain in Birmingham sold a disposable vape to a mystery shopper, the company reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retailers used various tactics to mask the illegal sales. \u201cSome retailers said they would sell disposable vapes, but only by the box, not individually\u201d, Haypp said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High street stores with online profile<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOther shops would accept cash only and would not provide a receipt. Probably the most concerning element of these results is that the shops tested were not back alley or underground stores. Instead, all these shops had an online profile and were what could be described as high-street stores.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company said the investigation was prompted by early signs that confusion following the ban could fuel non-compliance. \u201cFindings from our 2024 Vape Report and customer surveys have previously indicated widespread uncertainty among vape users about which alternative products they could transition to after the disposables ban on 1 June.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cEvery sign suggested that disposable vape users would continue to try to buy these products, despite the UK-wide ban. To test this, Haypp commissioned an independent mystery shopping company\u2026 The results indicated that our hunch was correct.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Actual number likely to be higher<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Although the sample size was relatively small, Haypp warned that \u201cit is not unreasonable to imagine that the actual number of retailers selling disposable vapes could be much higher.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs such, we anticipate that this ban will prove a real challenge when it comes to enforcement by the authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results echo what has happened in Australia<\/a>, where a strict ban on nicotine vapes led to a flourishing black market, making enforcement almost impossible and products less safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Haypp is calling for a combination of tougher inspections and better education for consumers. \u201cEducation is half the battle here, and educating vapers as to their alternatives is key to changing habits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMoving forward, it is possible to ensure a shift towards safer and more compliant nicotine alternatives – by a stronger policing of retailers, coupled with straightforward and practical advice for vapers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nearly one in four UK vape retailers are selling disposable vapes illegally just weeks after they were banned, according to a new investigation.\u00a0 The findings, published by online nicotine retailer Haypp, show that 23 per cent of shops visited by mystery shoppers…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":990002,"featured_media":25739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[257],"tags":[344,186],"slider":[],"class_list":["post-25738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-australia","tag-nicotine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/990002"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25738"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25746,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25738\/revisions\/25746"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25738"},{"taxonomy":"slider","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clearingtheair.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/slider?post=25738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}