Kingston Trading Standards have taken 4,634 vapes deemed non-compliant to UK safety regulations off the market in the past six months, according to Kingston Council.
The Standards Team also removed unsafe electrical equipment, toys, and counterfeit phone accessories for disposal.
“Kingston Trading Standards Team is determined to rid our shops of dangerous and illegal items and to make Kingston a fairer place for those businesses that work hard to keep within the law,” said Kingston Council in their announcement on X.
Trading Standards also worked with Kingston Police to test shops and pubs for the sale of age-restricted goods.
Despite the number of confiscations announced, it does not seem to have knocked customer confidence.
Retailers unaffected by the confiscations said business remained good.
Zakaria Rakhi, store manager of vape retailer iRepair Zone, said that customer confidence remained strong and that sales had not been affected.
iRepair Zone was among the businesses whose vapes had passed inspections by Kingston Trading Standards Team.
Rakhi said: “Confiscations elsewhere don’t affect us, our customers know we have nothing to hide. It is not a problem.”
Ermelinda Nici, a Kingston resident, said that the number of non-compliant vapes were concerning. “It is a bit too many,” she said. “It is not that bad, but it should be better.”
Kingston shopper Evie Morton said that she was not worried by the confiscations and remained “confident” shopping in Kingston.
