Key Points
- Hull ranked first
- Over 3,000 annual incidents
- Vapes and pouches involved
- Hotspots persisted over five years
2Firsts
June 16, 2026 — According to Talking Retail, Freedom of Information (FOI) data analysed by nicotine pouch retailer and information platform Haypp shows UK councils recorded more than 3,000 seizure incidents involving illicit nicotine-containing products in 2024/25, covering vapes, nicotine pouches, smokeless tobacco and other nicotine products.
Hull City Council recorded the highest level of seizure activity in 2024/25, with 318 incidents. The figure accounted for nearly two-fifths, or 39%, of the council’s total seizures over the past five years. The council said it seized more than 2.9 million illicit nicotine items during the year, including more than 2.8 million cigarette sticks and 38,740 e-cigarettes and vapes. The seizures took place at locations including newsagents and vehicles and resulted in 24 enforcement actions.
Liverpool City Council ranked second with 183 seizure incidents. The council reported seizing more than 46,300 illegal nicotine-containing products in 2024/25, with all incidents taking place at convenience stores. The enforcement actions resulted in 30 closure orders. Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council ranked third with 170 seizures and more than 752,000 illicit nicotine items seized from premises including off-licences and vape shops. The seized items included 3,294 nicotine pouch products, 9.27 kilograms of smokeless tobacco, 748,873 cigarette sticks and 239.03 kilograms of hand-rolling tobacco.
Other councils in the top 10 for 2024/25 included Kent County Council with 169 seizure incidents, Stoke-on-Trent City Council with 166, Lancashire County Council with 134, Warwickshire County Council with 93, Coventry City Council with 91, Southwark Borough Council with 85 and Lincolnshire County Council with 85.
Over the five-year period from 2020/21 to 2024/25, Hull City Council also recorded the highest number of seizure incidents, with a total of 815. The council said it seized more than 10.7 million illegal nicotine-containing products during the period, with the highest annual total, almost 4.8 million items, recorded in 2022/23. The number of seizure incidents rose year on year, from 38 in 2020/21 to 318 in 2024/25, an increase of 737%.
Liverpool City Council ranked second over the five-year period with 428 seizure incidents. During that time, the council reported seizing more than 102,130 illicit nicotine items, including more than 88,180 vapes. Lancashire County Council ranked third with 426 incidents and has seized approximately 255,225 illegal nicotine-containing products since 2020/21 from locations including convenience stores, vape shops, barbers, petrol stations and private vehicles.
Marina Murphy, senior director of scientific affairs at Haypp, said illicit nicotine-containing products are a growing issue in the UK. She said such products may include items that have not entered the UK through regular channels or products that do not meet required safety or labelling standards. Because illicit products are manufactured or imported outside regulated channels, consumers cannot be certain about their ingredients or nicotine levels, she said, which may expose them to poor-quality or unsafe products.
Murphy said some products may show clear warning signs of non-compliance, including inconsistent packaging, missing compliance information or sales in unregulated environments such as car boot sales. However, she said it can be difficult to identify an illicit nicotine product, and improving public understanding of these indicators is an important step in raising awareness and helping consumers recognise and avoid non-compliant products.
The data points to a concentration of enforcement activity in certain parts of the UK. For legal retailers and compliant brands, the circulation of illicit products may affect market order and consumer trust. For local enforcement authorities, the increase in recorded seizures also underscores the overlap between vapes, nicotine pouches, smokeless tobacco and traditional tobacco products in retail compliance enforcement.
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Cover image:talkingretail
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