Nicotine-Free Vapes Sold On Amazon Found To Contain Nicotine

Vapes bought on Amazon as “nicotine-free” have been discovered by a Guardian investigation to include the extremely addictive substance.

The Guardian examined seven merchandise from the web market that said on the sellers’ pages that they contained no nicotine, and 6 had been discovered to include the stimulant. It’s unlawful within the UK to promote vapes containing nicotine as “nicotine-free”.

A shopper raised considerations that vapes marketed as “zero nicotine” really contained the substance with Amazon by way of their customer support chat in July and once more in August, however Amazon advised the individual to contact the vendor straight.

Not solely did six of the vapes include nicotine, however some had an e-liquid tank over the authorized restrict of 2ml.

Amazon has now eliminated the merchandise pending an investigation and stated it will take enforcement motion towards any third-party sellers who violated their insurance policies.

The Guardian was alerted to the problem by the buyer, who needs to stay nameless. He stated he had been utilizing a pack of two disposable vape pens which claimed to be nicotine-free.

“I’ve been attempting to surrender vaping so I purchased no-nicotine ones,” he stated. “I’ve purchased them about 20 occasions and spent a whole lot of kilos on them.

“Once I first bought them I trusted they didn’t include nicotine, so thought I used to be getting off [the substance]. However after I stopped utilizing the vapes I bought withdrawals. I regarded on the evaluations and a great deal of individuals had been saying this product really has nicotine in it. They had been saying it’s a fraud,” he stated.

The shopper contacted Amazon buyer companies, who stated “as per the outline we imagine it [the product] accommodates no nicotine”. He replied asking: “So no checks had been completed on the product? Regardless that myself and different individuals within the evaluations have stated it in all probability contained nicotine.” Amazon then suggested the shopper to contact the vendor.

The Guardian examined seven merchandise which reviewers claimed had been being misdescribed, and just one got here again as being freed from addictive chemical compounds.

Laws specify that vape tanks must have a capability of not more than 2ml and a nicotine power of not more than 20mg/ml. Any vapes with contents exceeding these quantities are unlawful and shouldn’t be bought to the general public, regulators say.

One vape was marketed as being zero-nicotine however really had 12.27mg/ml of nicotine and a fill quantity of 6ml. One other vape had 13.58mg/ml of nicotine and a equally giant fill quantity.

An announcement is anticipated quickly on whether or not the federal government will ban disposable vapes, after rising requires motion from main paediatricians and councils.

Medical doctors are involved concerning the well being dangers as a rising variety of younger persons are utilizing single-use vapes. Native authorities have raised the alarm about environmental points triggered when the merchandise, which include lithium batteries, find yourself in landfill.

In June, the Guardian revealed that hundreds of thousands of unlawful and doubtlessly dangerous vapes had been seized in the past three years, with buying and selling requirements saying this was the “tip of the iceberg”.

Julian Seashore, the interim govt director for healthcare high quality and entry on the Medicines and Healthcare merchandise Regulatory Company, stated: “To be legally bought within the UK, corporations should present details about their nicotine-containing e-cigarette product to us that exhibits it complies with sure UK rules. This helps be certain that e-cigarettes on the UK market meet security and high quality necessities.

“You probably have bought a product that’s not printed on our website, it’s best to return it to the retailer or your native buying and selling requirements service. If you happen to expertise an adversarial impact from use of a nicotine-containing e-cigarette product, please report it to us by way of our Yellow Card scheme.”

An Amazon spokesperson stated: “We have now eliminated these third-party merchandise pending additional investigation. Third-party sellers are impartial companies and should comply with all relevant legal guidelines, rules and Amazon insurance policies when listings gadgets on the market in our retailer. We have now proactive measures in place to stop prohibited merchandise from being listed, we repeatedly monitor our retailer and take motion towards those that violate our insurance policies.”