Bristol officials under pressure: almost every shop is selling illegal vapes

A trade standards officer in Bristol responsible for addressing issues told city councilors that illegal e-cigarettes are being sold in “every corner shop” in Bristol due to their oversized capacity and excessive number of puffs.

Emma Hennessey informed members of the Bristol City Council licensing committee that the city is flooded with illegal e-cigarettes primarily produced in China, which do not comply with UK laws and standards.

Under UK law, disposable e-cigarettes can legally contain enough e-liquid for only 600 puffs, but shops in the city often sell e-cigarettes containing enough e-liquid for 9000 puffs. This is problematic because illegal e-cigarettes may not meet UK safety standards.
This finding was disclosed during a licensing hearing where a couple operating the Ashton Gate mini-market had their alcohol sales license revoked due to a year-long violation of licensing regulations and other issues surrounding illegal e-cigarettes and smuggled tobacco. Ms. Hennessey stated that during a series of visits in 2023, thousands of illegal disposable e-cigarettes were found for sale at the Ashton Gate mini-market and confiscated by the trade standards department.

Members of the licensing committee heard evidence from Ms. Hennessey, representatives from Avon and Somerset police, and the shop owner himself, painting a picture of the widespread sale of illegal e-cigarettes.

Ms. Hennessey explained, “These illegal e-cigarettes have tanks that are too large. They are manufactured in China or the USA and shipped here, and due to the customs services being too busy to stop all of them, many have made it through.”

“In the past few years, this situation has suddenly exploded to the point where almost every corner shop in Bristol is selling them. They circulate through cash and carry shops, and there is currently a huge illegal black market. When you ask shop owners, you find that unmarked white vans are driving around Bristol, filled with these illegal e-cigarettes, visiting all the corner shops, and that’s where the shop owners are getting them,” she added.

At the hearing for the Ashton Gate mini-market, shop owner Iryan Jamal admitted that the trade standards department found a large number of illegal e-cigarettes during two visits in 2023. He told councilors that he purchased them from various cash and carry shops in Easton and from a van man, who told him they were legal—so he sold them unknowingly, he claimed.
Mr. Jamal attempted to use the prevalence of illegal e-cigarettes as a defense at his licensing hearing, pointing out that every shop was selling them, so he thought they were legal. He said at the hearing, “Every shop—they’re all selling these illegal e-cigarettes. You can buy them at cash and carry shops, and the person who sold them to me told me they were legal. I asked the seller if they were banned, and he said they weren’t. But I am responsible for everything sold in the shop,” he added.

The only penalty shop owners typically face for selling illegal e-cigarettes is confiscation. They do not need a license to sell e-cigarettes or tobacco products, so their licenses cannot be revoked like alcohol sales licenses.