The number of fines that have been given out to businesses/individuals selling illegal vapes - Find a freedom of information request

Information regarding the number of fines that have been given out to businesses/individuals

selling illegal vapes. I am specifically interested in:

1. How many fines were handed out by Trading Standard officers to people/businesses selling illegal vapes between the period of 2020-2021?

2. How many fines were handed out by Trading Standard officers to people/businesses selling illegal vapes between the period of 2021-2022. 

3. What was the total amount of the fines handed out by Trading Standards officers to people/businesses selling illegal vapes between the period of 2020-2021?

4. What was the total amount of the fines handed out by Trading Standards officers to people/businesses selling illegal vapes between the period of 2021-2022?

5. How many repeat offenders were fined on multiple occasions during the period 2020 up to the most recent month available in 2023? 

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.

1 -4. Lincolnshire Trading Standards service began recording vape seizures separately in 2022. Lincolnshire Trading Standards do not issue fines to businesses distributing non-compliant vapes, such as on the spot penalty notices

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

Please note:

•. 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 (eg tobacco) were also seized at the time. 4 further prosecutions are currently pending for noncompliant 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.