Between 2021 and 2025, Scottish councils seized £475,000 worth of illicit vapes, a new report from Vape Club has claimed.
The amount is, in fact, likely to be higher because a number of Scottish councils did not provide data for Vape Club’s 2026 Illegal Vapes and Nicotine Product Report, including Renfrewshire Council, which reported the highest number of illegal vape confiscations in 2024 at 3,814.
However, every Scottish council that did provide data for the report has seen a decrease in the number of illegal vapes seized in 2025 versus 2024, apart from South Lanarkshire, which saw a 184% increase to 1,273.
The City of Edinburgh Council and Highland Council – flagged up as illegal vapes ‘hotspots’ in last year’s report – had both seen a dramatic decline in the number of illegal vapes confiscated. The number seized by City of Edinburgh Council fell 86% year-on-year from 2,800 in 2024 to 387 in 2025, while those seized by the Highlands Council have dropped 100% from 3480 in 2024 to 0 in 2025, according to the report.
Overall, the report saw 1.3m illegal vapes seized in the UK last year, with an estimated street value of £10m. Vape Club stated that nearly five million illegal vapes had been seized over the last three years – equivalent to three seized every minute – with an equivalent street value of £39m.
Central Bedfordshire Council seized the largest number of illicit vapes in the UK in 2025 at 345,718 – which is a three-fold increase compared to the previous year. Across three years, the council has seen over half a million illegal vapes seized (511,877). The report suggested that nearby Luton Airport was being targeted for illegal vape imports.
Dan Marchant, Director at Vape Club and founder member of the UKVIA, said:
“We urge the government to take the right steps in upcoming regulation to tackle the issue effectively, and stop the sale of illegal and potentially dangerous vapes being on sale to the British public. Trading Standards should be given the resources to be able to tackle these head on.”
“We’ve long called for a retail and distributor licensing framework to be implemented for the vape sector. This would provide trading standards the power and resources to effectively enforce the law right across the UK. It’s a nationwide issue and is affecting our high streets and local areas.”
