Following the ban on disposable vapes on 1 June 2025, Luton Trading Standards have seized 926 single-use vapes from five premises, the council said.
The council reminded retailers that all single-use vapes should be removed from display and disposed of responsibly, or face prosecution.
In addition, Euro Magazine Ltd on Wellington Street, Luton, and its director, Masoud Ali Ahmed, 53, of Browning Road, Luton, were fined nearly £8,000 for selling counterfeit and non-duty paid cigarettes as well as foreign-labelled medicines, including a controlled drug, despite prior warnings.
“We’re determined to keep our town a safe place for everyone, and these successful operations demonstrate how hard our Trading Standards team work to investigate and, where possible, take action against retailers who are caught flouting the law and selling illicit tobacco and vaping products that could severely harm the health of our residents,” Cllr Maria Lovell, portfolio holder for Trading Standards, said.
The council also reminded vape retailers that they must have a waste take back bin or similar arrangement in store for customers to return old vapes (including single use vapes), and a waste contract in place for the proper disposal of these.