Retailers believe shoppers will move away from legal products
MORE than nine in every 10 independent retailers have said that the government’s planned nicotine products bans will fuel demand for illicit products.
According to a new members survey conducted by The Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed), over 90% of respondents said shoppers would move over to the illegal products once the bans had been introduced, and 78% claimed that customers were purchasing illicit tobacco and vapes from other sources now more than ever.
Mo Razzaq, national president of the Fed, said: “The Government’s plan to stop young people smoking and vaping may look good on paper and in headlines but, as our survey shows, it will have serious impacts on legitimate traders.
“Just like shoplifting, selling counterfeit and non-duty tobacco is not a victimless crime. It damages legitimate retail businesses and communities. The people who peddle illegal tobacco couldn’t care less whether the customer is 18 or over. They just want the profit.”
These figures also match up with the recent findings from vape retailer Totally Wicked, which found that over 20,000 illegal vapes had been seized in Scotland in 2024 alone.
Highland Council reported the largest increase by an extraordinary 1,095.88%, while West Lothian Council saw a rise of 410.2% and Glasgow City Council was up 105.63%.
When asked on the increase to Highland Council’s illicit sales, the Trading Standards team said: “We are committed to keeping Highland consumers safe by taking firm action on sales to children by removing illegal vapes from sale.”
However, retailers claim they have seen little action from Trading Standards, according to the Fed’s poll, as 77% of its members said Trading Standards was not doing enough to tackle the problem.
Razzaq said: “The illicit tobacco market is often linked to organised crime, with the profits used to fund the smuggling of weapons, drugs and even people.
“Making it an offence for anyone born on or after January 1, 2009, to be sold tobacco and banning the sale of single use vapes in legitimate retail outlets will mean the governments are simply handing a blank cheque to rogue dealers on social media, street corners and by school gates.”
