POLICE and council officers seized more than 1,200 illegal vape pens allegedly being sold to children from two Southend shops.

Southend Council’s Trading Standards team worked alongside Essex Police to execute the raids on Wednesday, January 18.

The items are said to have a retail value of around £7,000.

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The vapes were allegedly being sold to children, Southend Council has said.

Before a vape product can legally be sold in the UK it must be registered with The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to ensure its safety. 

None of the seized products were correctly registered and were not manufactured to be sold in the UK.

Councillor Martin Terry, responsible for public protection, said: “Once again our trading standards team, working with Essex Police have taken dangerous and illegal items off the streets of Southend, while also protecting those underage children who were being sold these items.

“It is never ok to put the lives of our community in danger to make a quick buck. Although we cannot reveal the names or location of the premises involved, I want the general public to rest assured that our teams investigate every piece of intelligence they are given to make sure people stay safe.”

Every non-compliant vaping product in the shops was removed and will be destroyed using a process friendly to the environment.

The owners of both premises were warned about the consequences of selling age restricted products, such as nicotine inhaling products which cannot be sold to those under the age of 18, and if caught, can result in a large fine or imprisonment.

Southend Council says vape pens are being sold in packaging and flavours that are attractive to children as a trendy accessory.

The dangers of vaping are still not fully known as more research into the products is undertaken.

"Some potentially dangerous chemicals have been found in e-cigarettes," a Cancer Research UK spokesman said. 

"But levels are usually low and generally far lower than in tobacco cigarettes. Exposure may be the same as people who use nicotine replacement therapy such as patches or gum."