Illegal ‘supersize’ vapes branded with a high 'puff count' are being sold over the counter in County Durham, a Northern Echo investigation has uncovered. 

Our reporter was easily able to buy an illegal vape in a store - Mobile & Mac Point, located on Durham's North Road, in the city centre. 

In the UK, legislation outlines that disposable vapes must not hold more than two millilitres of liquid or contain more than 20 milligrams of nicotine per millilitre of e-liquid.

The device sold to The Echo - a Hayati Pro Ultra, with a puff count of over 15,000 - was deemed to have too much liquid and the wrong health warnings by experts at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. 

Mobile and Mac Point, on the busy Durham street, sold our reporter an illegal supersize vape within the first five minutes of the investigation.  

Vapes, laid out in plain view under the glass countertop in ascending order of “puff count” seem to drive the bulk of the shop’s retail.  

After being asked for a device known to be illegal by our reporter, the shopkeeper upsells, eventually selling a large vape - the Hayati Pro Ultra.  

“This the biggest,” the shopkeeper says, gesturing towards the Hayati vapes, which boast a puff count of 15,000+, adding: “It’ll last you for two weeks."

Though legal limits are not set by vape puff count, it can be used as an indicator. Typically, devices that stick to the 2ml vape oil limit will be able to provide around 600 puffs, meaning devices that tout counts well into the thousands are likely to be over the limit.  

With two tanks, both claiming to be 12ml, the rechargeable Hayati Pro Ultra has a total of 24ml of vape oil, giving it a capacity 12 times bigger than the legal limit.

The back of the device's box declares: "Sale only allowed in the United States", and carries a warning about the vape oil containing acetaldehyde and formaldehyde, which are "known by the state of California to cause cancer".

After a demonstration of how to switch the mouthpiece from one tank of vape oil to the next, and a warning not to charge the vape for more than 20 minutes at a time for safety, our reporter is charged £19.99.  

“The Hayati Pro Ultra 15,000 is illegal for various reasons,” a spokesperson for the Chartered Trading Standards Institute says.  

“These devices appear to have the wrong health warnings on for a start, as well as containing too much nicotine liquid.” 

Mobile & Mac Point was approached for comment, but did not respond. 

A spokesperson for the Chartered Trading Standards Institute said: “There is a robust regulatory framework to try to ensure that nicotine-containing vape products are available for smokers looking to quit their hugely dangerous tobacco habit. Children and non-smokers should not use them.  

“Illegal vapes do not attempt to comply with the regulations and are often sold to children, risking tying them to an immensely addictive substance.  

“They undermine regulations and are often imported and distributed via organised criminal networks bringing criminality into our communities.” 

Our information has been passed to Durham County Council's Trading Standards department. The team's officers have seized more than 6,500 illegal vapes, worth £80,000, since March 2022. 

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Ian Harrison, Durham County Council’s business compliance manager, said: “The message for retailers is that they must make sure the vape products they sell comply with UK regulations.

"We encourage them to only source such products from a reputable supplier and they can always ask us for advice if they are ever in doubt about whether or not a product is compliant.

“We also urge members of the public to help us tackle the sale of illegal products by reporting their concerns to us so we can investigate.”