5 Hidden Dangers Of Fake Disposable Vapes

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 12 months, you definitely would have heard of Disposable Vapes. The brightly coloured Vaping devices, filled with delicious sounding vape juice that seem to being sold in what feels like every shop you walk into.

When I walk into my local shop, the rainbow of colours of these Disposable Vapes behind the counter is near blinding, and the selection of choice is plentiful. Flavours, brands, shapes and sizes in abundance and the attraction of a multi buy deal being plastered all over the place to try and entice people in.

But unfortunately, some shops are going that extra mile to try and entice people in to buy Disposable Vapes, but unfortunately what they are doing is breaking the law by offering out “illegal” Disposable Vapes which do not adhere to TPD Guidelines which poses a risk for their business, and more importantly a big risk for the person using them.

In this blog, I’m going to look at the top 5 hidden dangers that are involved with using a fake Disposable Vape, and what can be done by you to remain vigilant and ensure that what you’re using is a legitimate product.

The Ever Growing Problem With Fake Disposable Vapes

DID YOU KNOW? According to the BBC, it’s estimated that at least 1 in every 3 businesses that sell Disposable Vapes in the UK are openly breaking the law by selling fake Disposable Vapes?

Mind blowing isn’t it. There’s no denying Disposable Vapes offer a huge opportunity for shops to jump on the bandwagon and start selling the hot product that’s in demand to increase their sales and profits. But Disposables aren’t like Poppits or Fidget Spinners that have been retail fads, Disposables are things that are NOT suitable for children, and contain Nicotine, a highly addictive chemical, that is not for anyone under the age of 18 to be consuming nor having the option to purchase.

Trading Standards Agencies around the country are working relentlessly to clamp down on these shops that are so freely opting to sell fake Disposables with no regard of customer care and the risks involved of using one of these fake devices. Recently, in the North-East of England alone, 1.4 million TONNES of illegal vapes were seized from shops in just 6 months, and this was just in one region of the country!

London has seen an outbreak of illegal vapes flooding the streets, with pop up shops and American sweet shops being found to be selling fake Disposable Vapes by the bucket load to anyone whether they are the legal smoking age or not. It’s a problem that doesn’t seem to be going away, but with the recent news of the Government injecting millions of pounds of money to Trading Standards to form “Hit Squads” as they called them, who’s purpose is to go after these shops openly flouting the rules and clearing fake Disposables off shelves in a more swift and effective way.

#1 – Fake Disposables Are NOT Safe!

The first danger and probably the most important one here is that opting to use a fake Disposable Vape really is not the safest thing to do.

Reputable brands of Disposable Vapes like Elf Bar and Lost Mary are made in a huge factory in China, and the people who make them know what they’re doing when it comes to creating a safe working device. Plus everything that enters on to the UK market must adhere to regulations set out in the TPD Guidelines as well as being registered with MHRA which ensures that the relevant safety specifications are met. And they can only be obtained through a legitimate and registered wholesaler.

Fake Disposable Vapes are the polar opposite of this. Probably made in a back street factory in the realms of another country, no regard is given when it comes to safety, and they’re then exported from that country and imported here, likely through illegal channels, that bypasses the regulatory checks on the safety of these devices. No safety leaflet will be included within the box like what a legitimate Disposable has, and that’s probably the biggest tell tale sign that what you’ve got is a fake.

#2 – Nicotine Content Is Sky High

Within the regulations of the Tobacco Products Directive that was introduced to regulate the UK E-Cigarette market back in 2016, the maximum Nicotine strength that can be sold was set at 20mg. This is the strength of Nicotine Salt vape juice that is used in pretty much all legitimate Disposables, with lower strengths like 10mg also being available in some brands.

Nicotine is a chemical, and it must be respected especially because you’re inhaling it into your body at the end of the day. Some people find 20mg to be just right for them, some find it too strong and prefer a lower strength, but there’s some out there who crave for a stronger Nicotine hit which is what these illegal manufacturers are banking on.

Fake Disposable Vapes are marketed with 50MG Nicotine strength, which is just absurd when you think about it, as this is over DOUBLE the legal strength that’s permitted in TPD regulated vape juice. 50mg might sound up your street if you’re a nicotine addict, but trust me, the hit is going to be something else compared what you’re used to. Unsuspecting people may also end up buying these not realising the Nicotine content is so high compared to a Disposable Vape that is “above board”

Ingesting too much Nicotine can cause some adverse side effects to happen, ranging from headaches, dizziness, nausea and even vomiting. Whilst these are short term, its not pleasant, so think twice when you’re chasing that Nicotine hit, and think is it really worth it? Also, the labels will feature falsified warnings about Nicotine like the ones listed below, there hasn’t actually ever been any reports proven to show Nicotine can cause Cancer and nor will there likely ever be any published.

#3 – Poor Vape Juice Quality

It’s quite a commonly known fact that near enough all Disposables are manufactured in China, including the E-Liquid used in them. And China do not have regulations on their vape juice like we do here in the UK, so criticism is given on the quality of the Vape Juice used which is understandable.

But the quality of the vape juice AND the Nicotine used in these fake Disposables is probably of a very low standard, and anything could be being used within the recipe and for all you know, could be being made in somebodies bathtub. Makers of fake Disposable Vapes have no regard for quality control, or compliance, so is it really worth inhaling whatever is in this mystery made vape juice into your lungs? I don’t think so…

#4 – Buying Fake Disposables Supports Black Market Sales

Obviously, if somebody is selling fake or counterfeit products, they’re classed as “black market” sellers, and if you’re choosing to buy fake Disposables or anything from them for that matter, you’re effectively supporting black market trade, and in turn harming the legitimate businesses that are doing everything by the book and losing out to the illegal sellers.

There’s been no end of reports of these shops selling fake Disposables not having any regard for regulations and rules, with a number of them openly selling Disposables to under age users with no ID checks taking place. And the way they are obtaining these fake Disposables is through illegal methods, meaning they won’t be paying tax on imports thus lining their pockets even further.

Legitimate vaping businesses are struggling enough at the moment to stay a float, and these cowboys who are selling fake vaping products are making the struggle even larger, with people being lured in to buy illegal Disposable Vapes rather than going to a reputable and established Vape shop to buy something that is legal, it’s madness!

#5 – Chances Are You’re Not Getting What It Says On The Packaging

We’ve established that people are being lured in by the “puff count” of these fake Disposables, with 10,000 being advertised but chances are, you’re not going to get that, or even close to it. Manufacturers know that this is a selling point, and will suck people in to purchase it, and there’s a pretty big chance that you won’t be getting what it says.

And the only way you can tell is if you actually keep count of how many puffs you have, and who in their right mind is actually going to do that? So ask yourself, is it really worth the money or shall I get something that’s legitimate and I know is safe to vape? I know the answer to that one….

Spotting A Fake Disposable Vape And What To Do

I’ve outlined pretty much all of the tell tale signs in the above points on how to spot a fake Disposable, but I’ll give it a quick clear breakdown so you can keep a keen eye on spotting one out in the wild.

• Nicotine strength higher than 20mg
• Puff count in the high thousands. This means there’s more than 2ml of Vape Juice inside of it (maybe…)
• Absolutely no safety information or warnings on the outer packaging
• No safety leaflet inside the box
• It’s a brand that you don’t recognize or have seen before
• The brand itself is NOT listed on the MHRA website.

If you do spy any shops selling these fake Disposable Vapes, get in touch with your local Trading Standards agency as chances are they may not be aware of it happening and will take action hopefully.

The shops that are selling fake Disposables and other vaping goods are slowly killing the businesses who are legitimate and do everything by the book, and it’s completely unfair. It’s time for the crackdown to really happen!

Why Ditching Disposables Completely Is Best

I get it, people use Disposables for a plethora of reasons, they’re convenient, the flavours are good, they don’t want to faff around with filling up vape tanks or changing coils, but opting to ditch the Disposables is so much more beneficial to you in the long run.

Disposables are an expensive way to vape, and can end up costing a small fortune if you’re finding yourself using at least one a day, and this will be costing you well over £30 a week, just on Disposables! And while the flavours might be good, you can get similar flavours at a much cheaper rate, like from us here at 2X for example!

Our range of Nicotine Salt Vape Liquids was created by taking inspiration from the popular flavours used in Disposable Vapes, and adapting them to put our own unique spin on them to make a much more cost effective way of enjoying the flavours of Disposables!

You can get 10ml of 2X Vape liquid for just £2.95 which is less than half the average price of a Disposable like an Elf Bar, and this means you also get 5 times the amount of vape juice compared to what you get in a standard Disposable. It’s a no brainer! Check out out shop and try our flavours for yourself today!