Renfrewshire is awash with fake cigarettes – and efforts are being ramped up to stub out the problem.
In the past 11 months, there have been 52 seizures of illegal tobacco and e-cigarettes, according to Renfrewshire Council’s Trading Standards department.
This includes 3,900g of tobacco, 5,120 cigarettes and 147 nicotine vapour products (NVPs).
Those businesses who have been caught selling the illegal products cannot be named because of the Enterprise Act, which prevents disclosure.
It has led to Trading Standards taking the unusual step of writing to every tobacco and e-cigarette retailer in the area, warning them of the consequences of illegally procuring the products.
In an email seen by the Express, Trading Standards officers say: “In recent months, the Trading Standards & licensing team have been made aware of the spread of illegal tobacco and e-cigarettes across Renfrewshire.
“To date, a large number of these products have been recovered from local business premises.”
They go on to say that, worryingly, such products are coming into the hands of those who are underage.
“In addition to this – and of greater concern – we are receiving regular reports of the sale of tobacco and e-cigarettes to young people under the age of 18,” states the email.
Illegal tobacco includes counterfeit tobacco and tobacco not made in line with UK safety and health standards.
It’s a big concern for councils and governments, not only because of the potential health risks, but also because of the loss of tax duty, which goes towards paying for the cost of essential functions, such as health services.
Scottish Government officials have also written to all retailers of NVPs telling them they must check their stock immediately to ensure they comply with Tobacco and Related Product Regulations 2016 (TARP).
They say that “sales representatives of NVP suppliers are visiting local retailers and supplying non-compliant
NVPs”.
The regulations state that all e-cigarettes and e-liquids must be notified to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) before they can be sold.
Notification status can be checked through the MHRA website.
Legal products must have an address in the UK for the importer or manufacturer.
And nicotine content should not be more than two per cent and they must not contain more than 2ml of liquid. For disposable NVPs, this is usually about 600 puffs.
Each product must have the health warning, comply with the labelling requirements under TARP, and come with an information leaflet.
A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “Trading Standards continue to support Scotland and UK-wide action to tackle the sale of illegal tobacco and e-cigarettes and address reports of their sale to people under 18.
“This has seen visits to premises across Renfrewshire and a range of enforcement activity considered from informal warnings to fixed penalty notices and reports to the procurator fiscal.
“Information and advice has also been provided to Renfrewshire tobacco and e-cigarette retailers to raise awareness of the issue and set out how local retailers can ensure their compliance.”
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