Seizure of Illegal Disposable Vapes by Trading Standards officers - Find a freedom of information request

Seizure of Illegal Disposable Vapes by Trading Standards officers within your council. I am specifically interested in the number of seizures in the following time periods:

1. The number of illegal disposable vapes seized by Trading Standards officers between the period of 2020-2021.

2. The number of illegal disposable vapes seized by Trading Standards officers between the period of 2021-2022. 

3. The number of illegal disposable vapes seized by Trading Standards officers up to the most recent month available in 2022-2023.  

Additionally, I am interested in the number of fines that have been given out to businesses/individuals selling illegal vapes:

4. How many fines were handed out by Trading Standards officers to people/businesses selling illegal vapes up to the most recent month available in 2022-2023?

5. What was the total amount of the fines handed out by Trading Standards officers to people/businesses selling illegal vapes up to the most recent month available in 2022-2023?

6. How many repeat offenders were fined on multiple occasions up to the most recent month available in 2022-23? 

If possible, I would appreciate the information being provided in a table format, specifying the quantity seized for each relevant time period, please. Additionally, please include any relevant details or classifications related to the seized items, such as brand names or types of illegal vapes. 
 

I can confirm that the information requested is held by Lincolnshire County Council. I have detailed below the information that is being released to you. 

In relation to the number of vapes seized, please see table below. 

Please note:

•            Vape seizure numbers have been recorded since 2022, once the issue emerged. 

•            We do not differentiate in our data between disposable vapes and non-disposable/rechargable vapes.  The vast majority seized are disposable, but not all will be.  Therefore the below figures relate to all vapes seized. 

 In relation to the number of fines issued, please see table below. 

Please note:

•  Lincolnshire Trading Standards do not issue fines to businesses distributing non-compliant vapes, such as on the spot penalty notices.  Fines would be issued through criminal cases taken through the courts by Lincolnshire Trading Standards.  As such, cases can take a long time to reach an outcome at court, not all cases will have concluded and so the below does not always relate to the year the product was seized. 

•   Furthermore, criminal prosecutions are not the only enforcement route followed for sellers of non-compliant vapes.  Warning notices, cautions, closure orders, etc, are all other available outcomes within our enforcement policy, which takes account of previous history.  The below is just those that have been through the courts and resulted in a fine.  Court cases can also result in other sanctions, such as community orders, custody, etc. 

•   The below cases have all been criminal prosecutions.   The level of fine issued may differ depending on the history of the business or individual or the case details – i.e. if other illicit products (e.g. tobacco) were also seized at the time.  4 further prosecutions are currently pending for non-compliant vapes. 

•    Whilst none of the cases below were fined more than once within this time period, the £1200 fine issued in Q2 2023/24 related to two separate under age sales of vapes on different occasions, the individual subject to the £250 fine in Q3 2023/24 has previously been prosecuted for underage sales of tobacco and the business receiving the £500 fine in Q3 2023/24 also sold a further non-compliant vape during the period of the investigation.