Police Seize 2,800 Illegal E-Cigarettes Worth GBP 20,000 in Bolton Raid

According to reports today, after three medical incidents were reported at a local school in Bolton, police seized suspected illegal e-cigarettes worth £20,000 in Bolton.

Greater Manchester Police seized 2,800 e-cigarettes during a day of action with Trading Standards, which may produce toxic gases.

The operation was in response to medical incidents believed to be related to the use of illegal e-cigarettes — those involved in the high school cases have fully recovered.

An unnamed participant from the school reported the medical incidents to the police, who are currently testing the devices.

Trading Standards recently warned that up to a third of e-cigarettes sold on the high street may be illegal.

Bolton Commander Chief Superintendent Steph Parker said: "Colleagues from the health department have issued warnings about illegal e-cigarettes that may produce toxic gases, but our joint efforts to ensure people's safety will not stop here; today's action and the volume of these seizures are just examples of our ongoing hard work."

Laboratory tests this month showed that fake tetrahydrocannabinol or cannabis oil e-cigarettes collected in Greater Manchester contained high levels of vitamin E acetate, a chemical that can produce toxic gases.

Vitamin E acetate is an oily chemical that can be added to liquids to thicken them or dilute them further. 

According to the Manchester Evening News today, inhaling vitamin E acetate can cause lung injuries, according to NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care.

Non-compliant or illegal e-cigarettes typically do not meet regulations because they are not properly labeled, may have higher nicotine content, or may be overfilled.

Current regulations state that e-cigarette tanks must not exceed 2 milliliters in capacity and nicotine concentrations must not exceed 20 mg/mL.

Some devices sold in stores are more than five times the legal size, providing young users with up to 3,500 puffs instead of the legal limit of 600 to 800.

Rogue e-cigarettes are flooding the UK market, with 1.4 tons of e-cigarettes seized in the last six months of 2022 alone in the northeast of England.

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) reported last year that the proportion of children aged 11 to 17 using e-cigarettes rose from 4% in 2020 to 7% in 2022.

In 2013, only 3% of children aged 11 to 15 had tried e-cigarettes, but this figure rose to 8% in 2020 and 10% in 2022.

Under UK law, it is illegal to sell e-cigarettes and e-cigarette products containing nicotine or tobacco to children under 18.

The Chief Trading Standards Officers Association stated that sales of alcohol and tobacco to under-18s fell by 11% and 23% respectively in 2022 compared to the previous year.

However, at the same time, sales of e-cigarettes to under-18s increased by 450%, said Kate Parker, tobacco control lead for the Northwest Trading Standards Organization.

She added that inappropriate advertising and promotion of e-cigarettes on social media is a key issue in addressing "how to reduce the appeal and accessibility of e-cigarettes to those under 18 while ensuring they are more appealing and accessible to smokers looking to quit."

"More work needs to be done, especially on TikTok, to help prevent e-cigarettes from appearing attractive to those under 18."