The prevalence of disposable vapes in Edinburgh risks creating a ‘black market’ in the Capital, an MSP has warned.
The comments follow a Local Democracy Reporting Service investigation which found shops across Edinburgh were still selling disposable vapes over a month after they were banned.
And a leading health charity has called their widespread availability across the city ‘disappointing’.
Edinburgh Council has insisted it is enforcing the disposable vapes ban, and added it was currently seeking two banning orders for traders who have flouted the law.
The city’s trading standards team are currently investigating evidence passed on by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Miles Briggs, a list MSP for Lothian region, said: “It is very concerning that the ban on disposable vapes is not being enforced properly in Edinburgh.
“The effects of these devices on people’s health and the environment are serious, and shopkeepers who do not accept this must be held to account.
“Police must work with local businesses to ensure that this new law is followed, and all disposable vapes are removed from shelves immediately.
“We cannot allow a black market to develop in our city.”
Lothians Green MSP Lorna Slater said: “Disposable vapes are a scourge on our environment. Before the ban 5 million were being thrown away every week in the UK, littering our streets, parks, rivers and beaches.
“Shops have had plenty of time to adjust their inventories. There’s simply no excuse to still be selling these illegal products. It shows a clear lack of respect for the law and their local community.
“The penalties for breaking this law can be steep. Now it’s up to the Scottish Government to ensure enforcement teams are properly funded and equipped to crack down on those who are putting personal profit ahead of our environment and young people’s health.”
And Councillor Kayleigh Kinross-O’Neill, the Green group co-leader, said: “Disposables vapes are an environmental nightmare, and Greens firmly supported banning them.
“They create litter and reinforce the throwaway culture while having questionable health benefits so it’s right we should see the back of them.
“However a ban is useless unless it is enforced, and the Local Democracy Reporting Service’s investigation into this problem shows that enforcement in Edinburgh is practically non-existent.
“Unfortunately after years of austerity in local authority budgets, trading standards departments are under severe pressure, which may account for why so many stores in Edinburgh are apparently flouting the ban.
“But the Labour administration in Edinburgh need to get a grip on this problem and ensure resources are in place to ensure the ban is properly enforced. ”
Our undercover investigation saw us purchase disposable vapes at seven shops in Edinburgh, with most of them displaying the vapes openly.
At one, we saw none on the shelves, but we asked a shopkeeper if he had any anyways – he obliged, placing ten on the counter for us to pick one.
He told us: “The only difference is the battery. But people still want these, they like the taste I think.”
The same shopkeeper later denied selling us a disposable vape, and said the store did not stock any.
Phil Doggart, a Conservative councillor for Liberton/Gilmerton ward, said: “Any new legislation that introduces a ban or something, or restrictions on something, is only ever going to be as good as the enforcement around it.
“Not for the first time, the Scottish Government introduced something, and placed a responsibility on local authorities to deliver.
“From that perspective, if enforcement officers are unable to do anything around enforcing the vape ban, then it’s not going to work. It’s pointless legislation.”
Cllr Doggart also noted that his party had won an additional £500,000 for trading standards enforcement in this year’s budget.
But he reiterated that placing extra responsibilities on local authorities without adding extra funding was bound to fail.
The Scottish Government has set aside a £300,000 fund to enforce the ban, but to date none of it has been distributed to local authorities.
Cosla and the government are currently in talks to determine how the funding will be distributed to Scotland’s 32 local authorities.
ASH Scotland, a health charity, called our investigation’s findings ‘deeply disappointing’.
Sheila Duffy, the charity’s chief executive, said: “ASH Scotland welcomed the ban of cheap disposable e-cigarettes, which are still the starter recreational nicotine product for most youngsters.
“It is a vital first step towards reversing the alarming upsurge of children vaping in Scotland during the last few years.
“It is deeply disappointing that some retailers have not been adhering to these new regulations, which came into effect at the start of June.
“It is vital that trading standards teams are supplied with sufficient funding to effectively enforce the new regulations as a matter of urgency to protect public health and the environment.”
She also said that the charity wanted to see quicker progress at Westminster over a proposed ban on flavoured vapes.
A committee report from trading standards officers, presented to councillors in May, said that the service needed more funding to enforce the ban without degrading other enforcement activities.
A Council spokesperson said: “Whilst the committee report highlighted pressures on the service, it clearly outlined the success of the teams in terms of seizures of illegal vapes.
“Recently, the Council has been in court enforcing the legislation by seeking two banning orders for traders who have flouted the law. All reports are taken seriously and will be investigated with action if required.”
In many shops we visited, shopkeepers acknowledged the vapes were illegal, saying that they were trying to eliminate stock and make up for the fact that refill pods are not yet widespread.
However, in some, people working the tills seemed to be confused by the ban. At one store, a shopkeeper appeared to legitimately believe that the vape we bought there was disposable.
A different worker at the same store believed the same thing when we came back a couple days later, saying they had got the disposable units in two weeks prior.
Many companies have brought in reusable vapes which have the same design and flavours of their old disposable ones, at a similar price point.
Even where refill pods are available, they are often priced at a similar level to a new reusable vape.
Some vape users have continued buying a new reusable vape, which comes with a refill pod already in the unit, and then throwing it away after it is consumed.
The ban was brought in to help fight littering and improve public health, with the Scottish ban part of a nationwide effort.
The legislation, and punishments, for breaching the ban differ in each of the four nations, but it came into effect in all of them on 1 June.
Retailers had many months’ notice to clear out existing stock ahead of the ban starting, with Scotland’s ban delayed by two months to line up with the rest of the UK.
In Scotland, retailers can be fined £200 for the first offence, with repeat offences drawing a higher sum.
The maximum penalty is a criminal prosecution, with fines up to £5,000 and up to two years in prison.
By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency. It is funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector (in Edinburgh that is Reach plc (the publisher behind Edinburgh Live and The Daily Record) and used by many qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover news about top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.
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