About Vaping
Can You Buy Vapes On Amazon?
Table of Contents
The short and quick answer to this question is YES, you can buy vapes on Amazon. However, what you order isn’t necessarily what you will receive!
Amazon. The one stop shop for everything you could possibly think of, that is just a mere click away from you buying it and it being delivered to your door, the next day and in some cases, the very same day. It’s convenient, it’s cheap, but it’s also the root of a lot of problems with local businesses falling victim to losing money hand over fist to the sheer behemoth that is Amazon.
Vapes have also been readily available to purchase on Amazon, as well as tanks, coils, spare glasses and even vape juice as well, but the key thing that sellers must abide by is that anything vape related MUST NOT contain nicotine.
However, recent stories have broken in the media that have proven that Disposable Vapes that can be purchased on Amazon which are sold as “Nicotine Free” do actually contain Nicotine and these volume of Nicotine in them are way above the TPD regulation limit. I take a look at this in detail, and why buying vapes from a non reputable vape shop really isn’t the most advisable option.
Buying From Amazon
I’d estimate at least 90% of people in the UK have ordered something from Amazon in their lifetime. Especially during the lockdown period of 2020 as reports broke that Amazon recorded a whopping 220% increase in profits during the pandemic, with people being housebound and shops closed, they had no other option but to turn to the online giants to be able to get whatever they wanted and it would be dropped at their door with no contact and in the most seamless and smooth transaction that anyone could ask for.
It’s convenient isn’t it. I hold my hands up and say I order plenty of things off of Amazon, and they’re delivered the next day. But I do endeavour to shop local as much as I possibly can, but some aren’t in this same mantra and just keep punting the orders through on Amazon which is one of the leading reasons that Mr Bezos is the third richest man in the world probably!
Amazon do have some stringent do’s and dont’s when it comes to what can be sold on their platform though. A small selection of prohibited items include;
- Alcohol
- Drugs
- Explosives
- Lock Picking and Theft Devices
- Medical Devices
- Tobacco and Tobacco-Related Products
And the bottom one is what we’re going to be focusing on here. You cannot buy any tobacco products, or tobacco related products on Amazon, and I’ve done my own searches and it’s true, you really can’t. The term “tobacco-related products” covers everything associated with it, and this includes Nicotine containing Vape Juice and Disposable Vapes, whilst they don’t contain tobacco, Nicotine is classed as a tobacco related product.
But sellers on Amazon Marketplace are free to sell Nicotine Free bottles of E-Liquid, as well as Nicotine Free Disposable Vapes, normally at cut throat prices which essentially is killing off the long standing reputable vape retailers. But there’s been some problems arising lately that the items being recieved by buyers don’t quite add up to the product description…
Proven Evidence Shows Nicotine Free Vapes Are Not Nicotine Free
If you take a look on Amazon, as the picture above states, the amount of “Nicotine Free” Disposable Vapes that are available are plentiful, in so many different shapes, sizes, brands, and flavours as well. And the common denominator of all of these is that they are all marketed as “Nicotine Free”
However, reports from LBC broke the news last week that they attempted some test purchases on buying these Nicotine Free Vapes to see if they really matched up to what the description says, and shockingly, they did not.
After a couple of days, the vapes were delivered and posted through the letterbox, with absolutely no age verification checks being conducted by the delivery driver. Upon opening the package, they were shocked to find that these vapes not only did contain Nicotine but they also contained over double the amount of vape juice that’s legally allowed to be included in Disposables Vapes (2ml maximum capacity as set out within TPD legislations)
This is really bad to see on many different accounts. Vapes being advertised as Nicotine Free but being sold with Nicotine in, no age verification check on delivery when there should be, despite it not containing Nicotine and also Vapes being sold openly flouting the TPD guidelines by containing more than 2ml of vape juice.
The reporters contacted Amazon immediately regarding these products and Amazon said that they have carried out a full investigation on these and removed them from sale, but still there remains an abundance of “Nicotine Free” Disposables on sale on Amazon, and it’s unknown whether these are actually true to what they’re being sold as.
Lack Of Age Verification Causing Problems
As stated above, the parcels containing the apparent nicotine free Disposable Vapes were simply delivered to the recipient by being posted through the door, with no age verification by the delivery driver being conducted, as it was obvious that there was no indication or anything on the packaging that this needed to happen, so it’ not a reflection on the delivery worker not carrying out the necessary task as they’re unlikely aware on what should be being done.
Despite the fact that these devices are sold as Nicotine Free, it’s against the law to sell anything vape related to people under the age of 18. This includes anything from devices, tanks, coils and Nicotine free Disposables or vape juice that do not contain Nicotine. This has been a cause for contention for a long time, but that’s what the law states and this is how it should be.
Amazon should be doing better here, a lot better. It’s not hard to simply slap a sticker on the outer packaging prompting delivery drivers to ask for ID when they deliver if the person accepting looks under 25. I understand Amazon delivery drivers are under huge pressure with deliveries, and this may cause them to be slowed down on their rounds, but surely Amazon should be more concerned about breaking the law by freely supplying under age users with Tobacco related products should they not?
Vape69’s Age Verification Process
At Vape69, we take age verification seriously, as well as ensuring that everything we do complies with all necessary rules and regulations that have been set out within the Tobacco Products Directive. Meaning if we sell Nicotine Free vape juice, it is 100% nicotine free and this is tested prior to any of our batches being released for sale to our customers.
When any orders are placed via our website, we have partnered with 1account, who are the leading age verification provider for online shopping to ensure that all of our customers pass the age verification process and are over the age of 18 to be able to purchase products from us. This is to ensure that we abide by the legality of selling vaping products to people over the age of 18.
Our age verification process is really simple and straight forward and takes minutes to complete, making your transaction as smooth as possible.
