Carmarthenshire has been named the 'illegal cigarette capital of the UK.' (Image: Photo by Romain B on Unsplash)
Carmarthenshire has been named the ‘illegal cigarette capital of the UK’ after 160,000 packets were seized by the council.
Carmarthenshire County Council found this figure over a 14-month period which is the highest number recorded.
7500 of the illegal cigarettes seized were vapes and there are three shops in Carmarthenshire that sell these items.
Furthermore, a Carmarthenshire shop owner made £300,000 by selling illegal vapes with high levels of nicotine.
The top 10 councils in the UK for seizing illegal cigarettes were:
- Carmarthenshire County Council – 160,000
- Kent County Council – 144, 727
- Hertfordshire County Council – 96,823
- Gloucestershire County Council – 56,845
- Swansea Council – 54,797
- Warwickshire County Council – 46,255
- Lancashire County Council – 31,779
- Devon County Council – 31,223
- Flintshire County Council – 22,032
- Lincolnshire County Council – 14,917
The study was conducted by Vape Superstore, who analysed FOI request data from UK councils between January 1, 2023, and February 29, 2024.
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