VAPERS have been issued an urgent warning after dangerous fakes were found to contain poison – here’s how to keep yourself safe.
Tests done by Trading Standards officers on a fake vaping device found that it contained three harmful elements – arsenic, lead and formaldehyde.
GettyVapers have been issued an urgent warning after fakes were found to contain poison[/caption]
The regulation body also found other substances that could damage your health while testing the fake vape in Derby.
Trading Standards also warned of a rapid increase of disposable fake vaping devices being sold to children.
It comes as major supermarkets have banned the sale of some vapes over health fears.
Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s have removed the Elf Bar 600 series from sale.
Supermarket giants cleared the e-cig from shelves after they were found to contain 50% more than the legal limit for nicotine e-liquid.
The vapes, which would normally cost between £3.80 and £6 at the supermarkets, have been banned following a Daily Mail investigation.
The national limit for nicotine liquid in a vape is currently at 2ml – which equates to a maximum 2% nicotine strength.
But tests conducted by the newspaper found they included between 3ml and 3.2ml each.
E-cigarettes contain nicotine but not many of the harmful substances produced by smoking tobacco, such as tar or carbon monoxide.
However, there has been debate about exactly how safe their use is.
Recent data from Action on Smoking (ASH) revealed that the number of kids vaping has increased.
The number of children that admitted to trying the products has risen from 14% in 2020 to 16% in 2022.
Trading Standards confirmed finding increasing numbers of nicotine-containing vapes being sold with much higher numbers of “puffs”.
They stress this is a problem because nicotine isn’t just addictive, it’s also a poison.
Recently, some vapes were found to have at least 50% more than the legal limit for nicotine e-liquid.
There are also warnings about how disposable vaping devices are being discarded, and the impact that is having on the environment.
And consumers are being reminded that batteries in disposable vapes can’t be placed in the bin, as they are classed as Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment.
If they are placed in the bin, the batteries can become damaged, causing fires in refuse vehicles or at waste management sites.
The danger from incorrectly disposing of these kinds of vaping products is also on the streets as well.
As they become exposed to the elements like the weather, they begin to break down, leeching heavy metals and pieces of plastic into the environment.
It means valuable materials like copper, gold and lithium that could have been recycled, are lost