Illegal tobacco and single-use vapes

To report the sale of illegal tobacco and single-use vapes in Cheshire East call the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 2231133 or start a Live Chat.

The sale of Illicit tobacco and single-use vapes has proven links to organised crime and the sale of such products can contribute to human trafficking, modern slavery, prostitution and terrorism.

Illicit tobacco undermines efforts to reduce the public smoking and encourages children to take up smoking.

Illicit tobacco is known by other names - for example:

• illicit/cheap whites these are cigarettes which have no legal market in the UK. These are cigarettes legally mass manufactured in factories usually in Eastern Europe and imported illegally to the UK.  Duty has not been paid and the appropriate health warnings and images might not be present which is required under UK law.
• Counterfeit cigarettes which are illegally manufactured and sold by a party other than the original trademark or copyright holder.
• Non-duty paid cigarettes which are smuggled into the UK without then the necessary duty being paid. As well as cigarettes made for the UK this may include cigarettes intended for sale in another country that have been smuggled into the UK or duty free cigarettes being illegally sold, rather than kept for personal use.

Single-Use Vapes

• As of 1st June 2025 it is illegal to sell single-use vapes. Disposable vapes waste valuable resources and are often discarded improperly, releasing harmful substances into the environment and posing fire hazards if they end up in landfills.

Contact us