Britain’s illegal vape hotspots can be revealed after a devastating fire in Glasgow was ignited in an unregistered store.
More than 1.2million illegal e-cigarettes have been seized across the UK over the last few years – the equivalent of two every minute, a report by Vape Club found.
The data shines a light on the volume of dangerous and unregulated devices trying to make their way to consumers – and the potential number slipping through the cracks.
Not only are the counterfeit products harmful to public health, but they now have the added danger of being a ‘powder keg’ that could spark deadly fires due to their volatile lithium batteries.
Earlier this week, a 175-year-old listed building in Glasgow burned down as a result of a fire which started in a vape shop.
It soon emerged the store at the centre of the blaze was not registered to sell vapes and had paid no business taxes.
E-cigarettes in the UK are subjected to strict regulations. As illegal vapes do not conform to British regulation, they can be more dangerous to inhale and present a greater fire risk. Shops often do not pay tax on them either.
The Vape Club’s annual report on illegal vapes has revealed the local authority area with the highest number of illegal vapes seized in the last year was Central Bedfordshire Council, which includes towns such as Leighton Buzzard and Dunstable.
Some 345,718 illegal vapes were seized by the council last year, a 205 per cent increase from 2024.
The vape shop at the centre of a devastating fire in Glasgow city centre, leaving a landmark Victorian building in ruins, was not registered to sell vapes and had paid no business taxes
Central Bedfordshire only has a population of 315,000 – meaning more than one illegal vape was seized per person. Over the past three years, the council has seized 511,877 vapes.
While the number may be surprising considering the council’s small area, its proximity to Luton Airport may explain why so many illegal vapes make their way to towns in Bedfordshire. Gangs may be targeting the smaller airport for their illicit imports.
In October, a vape shop was closed in Leighton Buzzard after authorities found hundreds of illegal vapes with a street value of £16,000 inside a hydraulic lift.
Bolton was Britain’s second illegal vape hotspot, with the council there seizing nearly 260,000 vapes in 2025, representing a 467 per cent increase from 2024.
Nearly 350,000 illegal vapes have been seized by Bolton Council in the past three years.
In 2024, a shop owner in a Bolton petrol station was fined £15,000 after he was caught with more than 8,000 illegal e-cigarettes.
In third place was Kent County Council, which seized 171,049 illegal vapes last year, according to data gathered by Vape Club.
Major illicit import hubs such as Dover, the Eurotunnel and Dartford are in Kent, which may explain why there are so many illegal vapes in the county.
The vape shop on Union Street in Glasgow pictured before the fire destroyed it and the building
Black smoke billows out of the vape shop before the fire ripped through the entire building
The London borough of Hillingdon seized the highest number of vapes over the last three years but saw a major decrease in 2025.
It seized 796,526 illegal e-cigarettes in the past three years, the most of any local authority. But it only seized around 50,000 in 2025, which was a 91 per cent drop from 2024.
Hillingdon houses Britain’s busiest airport, Heathrow, which explains why so many illegal vapes have made their way there. But the rapid decline in vape seizures indicates that gangs may have stopped targeting the airport, or that gangs have gotten better at avoiding detection.
The street value of the illegal vapes seized last year is estimated to be over £10million.
Experts have said, however, that the black market could be worth more than £1billion.
Legal vapes are strictly regulated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. For example, a legal vape will contain no more than 600 puffs and have a maximum nicotine content of 2 per cent.
Illegal vapes are unregulated and untested. They could contain dangerous levels of lead and nickel and cause health problems. Concerns have also been raised about their availability to children.
But illegal vapes can also be a fire risk, according to the Greater Manchester Fire Service.
Most e-cigarettes use lithium-ion batteries, the same kind used in smartphones, laptops and tablets.
But if they are not handled properly or regulated, they can catch fire because they are a high-energy type of battery. When alight, they ‘burn hotter and faster than conventional fires’, according to the British Safety Council – which may explain why the Glasgow fire seemed so uncontrollable.
Waste management company Biffa reported 180 fires between June and October last year, most of which they believed to have originated from vapes.
On Sunday afternoon, a fire in an illegal vape shop in Glasgow sparked a massive inferno that left a Victorian landmark in ruins and shut Glasgow Central station.
Flames spread through the store at 105 Union Street then into the historic B-listed Forsyth House building next door and around the corner onto Gordon Street.
The store was called ‘Junaid Retail’, trading as ‘Scot’s World’, and was noted as having occupied it since August 2024.
However no payment for business rates has ever been made by the company, and the account was therefore transferred to the council’s debt recovery partner.
The address was also not registered on the Scottish Government’s Register of Tobacco and Nicotine Vapour Product Retailers.
Glasgow Labour MSP Paul Sweeney said: ‘This scandal makes it clear that a line must immediately be drawn in the sand for building controls.
‘It is as plain as day that any business that uses lithium batteries should be held to extremely high safety standards and inspected regularly.
‘A vape shop is potentially a place that is full of potential incendiary devices, a powder keg if it is not managed properly.’
Maureen Burke, Labour MP for Glasgow North East, yesterday called for an urgent review of vape shops in the city, saying an audit was needed to prevent a ‘repeat’ of the blaze.
She said: ‘Given the large quantities of products containing lithium batteries, vape shops pose a greater risk of fire; therefore, it is essential that appropriate fire safety measures are in place.’