Illicit vapes and tobacco worth £5,000 seized in York raid
Illegal tobacco and vapes with a street value of about £5,000 have been seized from a business in York.Police and Trading Standards officials visited the premises in Clifton last week and found non-compliant vapes as well as counterfeit and illicit cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco, according to City of York Council.The products would be investigated and appropriate legal action would be taken, a spokesperson said.Jenny Kent, the council's executive member with portfolio for trading standards, said: "The illicit market in tobacco and vapes makes harmful products cheaper and more easily available, especially to those below the legal age limit."
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said the raid on the premises was the result of the force working closely with colleagues in Trading Standards.A total of 177 non-compliant vapes with a retail value of £2,124 were found at the premises, the council said.Meanwhile, 2,250 counterfeit and illicit cigarettes valued at £731, and 1,450g of counterfeit and illicit hand-rolling tobacco valued at £2,086 were also discovered.Kent said: "Illicit vapes are becoming much more prevalent and are partly responsible for the rise in young people vaping."Our public health advice is that while we support e-cigarettes as effective quit aids for adults to stop smoking, people who don't smoke shouldn't vape."Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.
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