British officials believe a shipment of oversized and super-strong American e-cigarettes smuggled into the UK and targeted at children is linked to organised crime.

So far this year, UK trading standards officers have seized thousands of illegal products across the country, including in Northumberland, Staffordshire, Nottingham and London.

Some e-cigarettes are more than double the volume and nicotine concentration allowed under current UK law and come in flavours such as Fanta and Skittles, raising concerns that they are aimed at children.

Social media influencers are also allegedly promoting them to younger audiences on platforms such as Tik Tok.

Health problems including coughing up blood, nosebleeds, headaches, chest pains and dizziness have been reported among young people who use illegal vaping products.

U.S. authorities are believed to have tightened regulations on e-cigarettes, leading to an influx as the world grows concerned about a new generation of people hooking up on nicotine through vaping.

Many countries, including the UK, aim to be smoke-free by 2030, meaning an adult smoking rate of less than 5%.

The government's stance, supported by an independent review by Dr Javed Khan in June, is that e-cigarettes are a healthier alternative to smoking, but non-smokers should not accept it.

But while smoking is now far less popular among young adults than it was in previous decades, research shows that vaping is growing among teens.

Last month, an annual survey by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) found that the percentage of 11-17-year-olds who said they regularly vaped rose from 4% to 7%.

The percentage of children who admitted to having ever vaped also increased from 14% to 16% within a year.

Although it is illegal to sell e-cigarettes to anyone under the age of 18, almost half of teens who vape say their main source of supply is a store.

In Staffordshire, trading standards officers seized 3,500 illicit e-cigarettes worth £27,000 between April and July this year.

Operations manager Tony Shaw said it was clearly a growth market and he expected that number to rise.

"We've definitely seen an uptick in the popularity of illicit vaping, and my hunch is it's going to go up even more. We're seeing stores that sell illicit tobacco coming into the area."

"I think it's more related to organised crime, a group of criminals taking these illegal vapes and putting them into their own supply chain, than some people suddenly decide to start selling illegal e-cigarettes. That's my own feeling. , and backed by some intelligence.”

Mr Shaw said the Trading Standards Authority was working with a wide range of law enforcement agencies including police, border officers and the National Crime Agency.

Officials are now focusing on disrupting the supply of illicit e-cigarettes through seizures rather than prosecutions, but Mr Xiao agrees that is becoming a bigger priority for authorities.

Aside from its growing status symbol among young people, part of the appeal of e-cigarettes is their low cost compared to smoking.

The vaping industry has shown that smoking a pack of cigarettes a day can cost as little as £27 a month, which would cost around £310.

Deborah Arnott, ASH CEO They are attractive to children.

“As the Khan review recommended to the government, an additional £15 million is needed for enforcement, which should include vaping and tobacco products. Laws also need to be strengthened to ban child-friendly packaging and labelling of vaping products and prevent Promote it on social media.”