Edinburgh residents are being urged to contact the City of Edinburgh Council if they have booked a procedure known as a Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) in the Capital this weekend.
The Council’s Environmental Health team has been made aware that there may be BBL operations taking place from Friday 26th April to Sunday 28th April through people responding to social media posts.
Other local authorities in the United Kingdom have received complaints after similar procedures were carried out resulting in people suffering serious health complications such as sepsis.
Cllr Neil Ross, Convener of the Regulatory Committee at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “We have been made aware that there may be procedures known as Brazilian Butt Lifts being performed in Edinburgh this weekend and we have concerns about the safety of such procedures.
“We are concerned about the potential risk to public health and would urge anyone who may have booked such a procedure this weekend to contact us as a matter of urgency.”
Anyone who may have a BBL procedure booked from Friday 26 April to Sunday 28 April in Edinburgh should e-mail environmentalhealth@edinburgh.gov.uk or phone 0131 200 2000.
Just one fixed penalty notice of £200 was issued by Edinburgh Trading Standards to a retailer for underage/illicit vape sales between 2021 and early 2023.
The city council reported it doesn’t have the authority to prosecute rogue vape traders.
Report follows the announcement of potential new vaping legislation which could restrict the sale of disposable vapes.
Government has pledged £30 million for tobacco and vape enforcement but the industry warns more needs to be done.
Research comes after an expert at Imperial College London revealed Trading Standards budgets have been cut by half, an estimated £200 million, since 2010.
As the government considers new vape legislation, which could see the sale of disposables restricted over youth fears, a new report from leading vape compliance firm Arcus Compliance reveals a staggering lack of targeted enforcement action is being taken against rogue vape traders in Edinburgh.
It found that, between 2021 and April 2023, Edinburgh Trading Standards issued JUST ONE FPN of £200 to a retailer for underage and illicit vape sales (this amount dropped to £150 if it was paid within 14 days).
The data was acquired through an FOI request made by Arcus Compliance to the City of Edinburgh Council and was gathered as part of a wider study on the activities of Trading Standards teams across the country in addressing youth access to vapes and illegal products.
In its response, the council said it ‘does not hold the authority to prosecute criminal cases in Scotland’, saying this is a provision reserved for the Crown Office or Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) – it can issue an FPN where ‘sufficient evidence’ has been established.
The full report findings show that across 11 major provincial UK cities – with a shared population of more than 5.5 million – just 21 prosecutions were made against retailers for underage/illicit sales between 2021 and early 2023.
Further, the highest total amount of fines and FPNs given out across these cities over the same time period was £2,188 – less than the current maximum penalty that can be issued to just one offender at £2,500 and considerably less than the £10,000 on-the-spot fines that the UK Vaping Industry Association has been calling upon Government to introduce.
Twenty-one local authorities, including 10 in central London, provided data on prosecutions, fines, raids and product seizures for underage and illicit vape sales. A handful also claimed that there was punitive action that was inconclusive or that there were ‘expected’ or ‘almost certain’ prosecutions impending.
The research comes after the Prime Minister put forward plans for a generational smoking ban and the government unveiled new investment for illicit tobacco and vape products enforcement functions.
Robert Sidebottom, Managing Director of Arcus Compliance, said: “The concerning lack of proactive enforcement in the form of prosecutions and penalties shown by this report demonstrates that the system is in serious distress.
“It’s staggering to see just how few prosecutions there have been and how low the levels of fines are, given the huge amount of concern over youth and illicit vaping. Trading Standards have been crying out for additional resources and support for some time and there’s no doubt as to why.
“The government has now pledged £30 million to help intercept illegal tobacco and vaping goods at the border and to tackle youth access.
“While this is a welcome development, we can’t just slap a multi-million-pound Band-Aid on the issue of underage and illicit vape sales and call it a day – especially if parliamentarians move on considerations to restrict the sale of disposable vapes.
He added: “This is a complex challenge which also requires regulators to ensure rogue traders are facing impactful punitive action, as well as greater national coordination from Trading Standards and greater powers for local enforcement officers.
“It should be noted that, according to Action on Smoking and Health Chair and Imperial College London Professor Nick Hopkinson, Trading Standards budgets have reportedly been halved, cut by an estimated £200 million, since 2010 – almost seven times the newly announced £30 million enforcement investment.”
Sidebottom questioned whether actions like fines, prosecutions and product seizures were being tracked effectively as cases continue to crop up in the media but didn’t appear to feature in the FOI feedback.
He also queried how much of the new investment would actually be used for vape enforcement and asked whether there were regional enforcement teams specifically tackling illicit vape trade or whether officers were spread across other age restricted areas such as alcohol, suggesting that it might be time for a more focused approach.
UKVIA Director General John Dunne, said: “It’s no wonder we are facing a youth vaping challenge when you see figures like the ones in this new report.
“Steps must be taken to ensure these products don’t end up in the hands of minors, but a ban on disposables is not the answer. Instead, regulators must ensure existing laws on illegal products and underage access are being fully enforced and those who break the rules face meaningful punitive action.
“Just recently I was shocked to read of a case where a retailer was fined a paltry £26 by a court for selling a vape to a 15-year-old – that amount is closer to pocket change than it is to being an actual deterrent.”
Dunne added that the new research reinforces calls for on-the-spot penalties of up to £10,000 for illicit sellers as several Trading Standards teams reported they currently don’t have the power to issue fines.
He said: “Although penalties and prosecutions are key weapons in our arsenal against cowboy sellers, they mean very little if Trading Standards don’t have the resources AND authority to pursue them – the government must take this new data very seriously.”
New sanctions come into effect for those found selling illicit tobacco products
More than 27 million illicit cigarettes and 7,500kg of hand-rolling tobacco were seized under Operation CeCe in its first 2 years, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and National Trading Standards have revealed.
This comes as new powers come into force from 20 July, which could see penalties of up to £10,000 for any businesses and individuals who sell illicit tobacco products. The sanctions will bolster the government’s efforts to tackle the illicit tobacco market and reduce tobacco duty fraud.
The new powers will also see Local Authority Trading Standards given the ability to refer cases to HMRC for further investigation. HMRC, where appropriate, will administer the penalties and ensure the appropriate sanction is applied and enforced.
Operation CeCe is a joint HMRC-National Trading Standards operation which has been working to seize illicit tobacco since January 2021.
Nis Bandara, HMRC’s Deputy Director for Excise and Environmental Taxes, said: “Trade in illicit tobacco costs the Exchequer more than £2 billion in lost tax revenue each year. It also damages legitimate businesses, undermines public health and facilitates the supply of tobacco to young people.
“These sanctions build on HMRC’s enforcement of illicit tobacco controls, will strengthen our response against those involved in street level distribution, and act as a deterrent to anyone thinking that they can make a quick and easy sale and undercut their competition.”
Kate Pike, Lead Officer for the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, said: “Trading Standards Officers across the country work with colleagues in Public Health to reduce the harm from smoking and with enforcement partners to disrupt criminality in our communities.
“We welcome this addition to our toolkit of measures to tackle illegal tobacco, ensuring that those who seek to profit from supplying these products face substantial penalties for doing so, and their ability to continue to trade is severely impacted.”
Lord Michael Bichard, Chair of National Trading Standards, said: “The illegal tobacco trade harms local communities and affects honest businesses.
“Through Operation CeCe, we have removed 27 million illegal cigarettes and 7,500kg of hand-rolling tobacco from the supply chain and we welcome these new measures to clamp down further on the illicit tobacco trade.”
HMRC will launch a new illicit tobacco strategy later in the year which will replace ‘From Leaf to Light’, which has been the guiding strategy for tackling the illicit tobacco market since 2015.
‘Bold new measures’ to combat rising levels of youth vaping to be announced this week
A new ‘illicit vapes enforcement squad’ – backed by £3 million of government funding – to be formed to enforce rules on vaping and tackle illegal sales of vapes to under-18s
Call for Evidence also launched to identify opportunities to stop children vaping
The UK Government is expected to unveil tough new measures to combat the illegal sale of vapes to under-18s as part of its plans to reduce smoking and tackle youth vaping in England.
In his speech at Policy Exchange on Tuesday 11 April, Health Minister Neil O’Brien is expected to announce a new ‘illicit vapes enforcement squad’ – backed by £3 million of government funding – to enforce the rules on vaping and tackle illicit vapes and underage sales.
Working across the country, the enforcement squad led by Trading Standards will share knowledge and intelligence across regional networks and local authorities.
It will undertake specific projects such as test purchasing in convenience stores and vape shops. It will also produce guidance to help build regulatory compliance, and will have the power to remove illegal products from shops and at our borders.
The minister is also expected to announce the launch of a Call for Evidence to identify opportunities to reduce the number of children accessing and using vapes, while ensuring they remain available as a quit aid for adult smokers.
It will explore topical issues such as the marketing and promotion of vapes and the environmental impact of disposable products.
Health Minister Neil O’Brien said: “Smoking kills, so our priority is to prevent people smoking, and support them to quit. We remain committed to our ambition to be smokefree by 2030.
“However, while vaping is a preferable alternative to smoking for adults, we are concerned about the rise in youth vaping, particularly the increasing use of disposable vaping products.
“The new illicit vapes enforcement squad will work across the country and clamp down on those businesses who sell vapes to children – which is illegal – and get them hooked on nicotine. Our Call for Evidence will also allow us to get a firm understanding of the steps we can take to reduce the number of children accessing and using vapes.”
Smoking prevalence in England in 2021 was 13.0%, the lowest on record, thanks to measures such as doubling duty on cigarettes since 2010 and continued funding to local stop smoking services. In 2021-22, £68 million of funding from the public health grant was spent on stop smoking services by local authorities, and nearly 100,000 people quit with the support of a stop smoking service.
In addition, £35 million was committed to the NHS last year so that all smokers admitted to hospital will be offered NHS-funded tobacco treatment services.
RoSPA: Government must extend 2023 deadline for EU Law repeal to avoid life-saving laws falling over a cliff edge
The debate on the Retained EU Law Bill and trading standards featured at The Commons on Thursday
RoSPA calls to keep people safe from accidents and injury by ensuring there’s enough time to conduct a thorough review and consultation process to maintain the UK’s position as a beacon of safety
– Bill provides an ‘opportunity’ to pave the way for more effective legislation and regulations by assessing each law individually, over a greater time period – according to RoSPA
With Thursday’s adjournment debate on the Retained EU Law Bill and trading standards set to rage on, the Royal Society of the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has reiterated its calls for a delay to the proposed implementation of the Bill at the end of this year.
Under the Bill, the Government is committed to repealing or replacing over 4,000 pieces of law taken from the UK’s previous membership of the bloc by December 2023, including compulsory seatbelt usage, workplace safety legislation, toy safety regulations, the working time directive and more.
A growing list of organisations, politicians and peers have expressed concern over rushing through the Bill, saying there is not enough time to thoroughly assess, adapt or improve each law, and if essential laws are repealed on mass this year, without proper review and consultation, many lives will be lost as a result.
Errol Taylor, Chief Executive of RoSPA, says that if managed correctly, this Bill could offer an opportunity to arrive at a successful destination, but that cannot happen if the Government sticks by its current 2023 deadline, which represents a cliff edge over which will fall essential life-saving legislation.
“At RoSPA, we’re proud to say we’re world leaders in the safety field and work with UK Government to prevent accidents and the unnecessary loss of life. Consequently, the headlong rush to abolish regulations is alarming.
“While we agree that the revision and sanitation of standards could be a positive step, we need to ensure we do this sensibly and in consultation. The Bill offers a huge opportunity for health and safety professionals to lead the way in protecting and enhancing people’s lives, and we want to be at the forefront of that.
“Ultimately, the importance lies in the preservation of the aim and intention of legislation, whether that’s protecting children, drivers or the elderly – not in how we get there.”
Some of the key laws set to be abolished, include:
The 2011 Toys (Safety) Regulations – dictating how toys are marketed, to make clear if they might be choking hazards, contain toxic chemicals, or if there is a danger that parts may come loose
The 1993 Motor Vehicles (Wearing of Seat Belts By Children in Front Seats) Regulations – setting out limited exceptions
The 2015 Construction (Design and Management) Regulations – to ensure proper oversight of building projects to mitigate “the risks involved”, ensure firms employ “the right people for the right job” and communicate dangers “effectively”
The 2012 Control of Asbestos Regulations – requiring all building owners to maintain accurate registers of where there is dangerous asbestos to avoid accidental exposure
2011 legislation “on the provision of food information to consumers” – which sets out “requirements for food and drink labelling”, to alert shoppers to potentially deadly allergens
The 1999 Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations – specifying what actions an employer must take.
Sir Jonathan Jones, the former head of the Government Legal Department, said leaving a needlessly short space of time to review such a large amount of legislation, was a ‘terrible way to make law.’ [1]
This has been echoed by Chris Fox, the Liberal Democrat business spokesperson in the Lords[JA1][JB2][JB3] , as well as leading industry bodies like the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the Institute of Directors (IoD) and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, who say that the Bill will hinder economic growth2.
Almost £26,000 worth of illegal tobacco has been taken off the shelves by the City of Edinburgh Council’s Trading Standards team and Police Scotland.
Operation CeCe is a UK wide operation targeting illicit tobacco, which is either duty evaded, counterfeit or both and the recent operations in the capital resulted in the seizure of almost £26,000 worth of stock. It included 22,600 cigarettes and 10Kg of hand rolling tobacco which in turn represented evaded duty of over £10,600 defrauded from public funds.
Acting upon intelligence received, Officers from the City of Edinburgh Council’s Trading Standards team, in partnership with officers from Police Scotland, attended a number of premises in the Leith Walk area of the city, along with tobacco detection dog Boo.
Transport and Environment Convener, Councillor Scott Arthur, said: “These recoveries are a fantastic result for our Trading Standards team who work hard to identify and tackle unsafe and illegal products. Stopping such products reaching consumers in Edinburgh and beyond is a testament to their proactive strategy and dedication.
“I am, of course, concerned that this market exists within Edinburgh. These products have not had the required duty paid on them, but also do not comply with the plain packaging, warning requirements, and where they are counterfeit, breach Trade Marks legislation. No tobacco product is safe, but the recovered goods may not comply with the requirements designed to ensure that cigarettes are self-extinguishing to prevent domestic fires.
“Illicit and Counterfeit Tobacco evades taxation and often ends up in the hands of young people, and for that reason tackling it is a key part of Edinburgh’s contribution to the Scottish Government aim to achieve a Smoke Free Generation by 2034.
“We are committed to tackling the supply of illicit tobacco, and will work with our partners in Police Scotland and HMRC wherever possible to disrupt its supply. Legitimate retail sale of tobacco is also disadvantaged where illicit supply routes exist, and we would encourage any legitimate business owners to come forward with any information.”
A Which? investigation has found that doorstep scammers are back in business after lockdown restrictions – and these ruthless fraudsters are using new coronavirus scams to target the most vulnerable.
According to Action Fraud data, £18.7 million was lost to doorstep crime in 2020 alone. With many in-person scams believed to go unreported, the true figures could be even higher.
Doorstep scams can come in many forms. For example, fraudsters might offer building, gardening or home improvement services and then overcharge for or never complete the work. Fraudsters also often pose as salespeople or charity workers as a means of parting people from their hard-earned cash.
The number of reports to police for this type of fraud in April 2020 was 46 per cent lower than April 2019 as doorstep sellers were banned during the lockdown. However, by summer 2020, reports of doorstep scams had returned to pre-pandemic levels, with fewer restrictions stopping fraudsters from going out.
Which? research has found that scammers have exploited vulnerable people’s uncertainty and isolation during the lockdowns and used the pandemic as an opportunity to create new coronavirus frauds and recycle old scams.
A survey of 1,186 Which? members found that 16 per cent have received unsolicited visits from someone claiming to be a salesperson or charity worker since the start of the first lockdown.
9 per cent said that they felt the visitor was pressuring them into making a purchase or performing a certain action, such as donating.
Although Which? doesn’t know how many of these visits were scams, even genuine doorstep selling can leave consumers at a disadvantage. These unexpected visits can also be unnerving – especially for elderly or vulnerable people or if the salesperson is particularly pushy.
Which? member William Grayson, 81, lives alone in Weston-super-Mare, a 40 minute drive from his closest relatives.
William was visited at his home by two volunteers from a ‘Covid support group’ who offered to do shopping and errands for him while he was shielding. He gave the young couple £200 cash over two visits for food and home essentials but never got his shopping. He said: “Realising these people were out to get me made a dark time even darker for me to be honest.”
Which? has heard from other victims across the UK who have been targeted by fraudsters claiming to be from local NHS services offering fast-track testing and vaccines, collecting donations for fake charities and selling vitamin pills that ‘protect against’ Covid-19.
NHS services across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland continue to stress that all testing and vaccine services are free of charge, and nobody will ever turn up at someone’s home without warning. Those being vaccinated at home will likely be contacted in advance by their local NHS service, or regular district nurse, to arrange an appointment.
An increase in home improvement projects during lockdown provided scammers with new opportunities to rehash old scams.
Over a third (37%) of Which? members surveyed who had an unsolicited door knock said it was someone offering home improvement services.
When two landscapers turned up at Lucy’s, whose name has been changed, front door in Maidenhead last July, offering to tidy up her front garden, she didn’t think it was unusual that they’d asked for the money up front.
She explained: “They said they’d been working on my neighbour’s garden and thought mine looked like it could do with a bit of TLC. It was funny because I’d recently been admiring my neighbour’s new front garden.”
Lucy later found out they weren’t the same traders that had worked on her neighbour’s garden. She has since given up hope of getting any money back.
Unfortunately for Lucy, victims are unlikely to get their money back if they’ve handed over cash.
Cash transactions are also untraceable which makes the perpetrators harder to track down and bring to justice.
Which? advises consumers against buying from unsolicited doorstep sellers. This applies to anyone that calls by who isn’t expected, or who consumers haven’t made an appointment for, such as water or electric meter readings or gas engineers.
If there are any safety fears, police and Trading Standards advise calling 999. This also goes for particularly aggressive traders.
It is banned practice for a trader to refuse to leave your property if you’ve asked, although this may be justified under some circumstances, such as to enforce a contractual obligation.
Consumers should also sign up to Which?’s scam alert service in order to familiarise themselves with some of the latest tactics used by fraudsters, particularly given the explosion of scams since the coronavirus crisis.
Adam French, Which? Consumer Rights Expert, said: “It’s highly concerning that doorstep scammers are back in business and looking to exploit the pandemic in every way they can. We all need to be wary of anyone who knocks on our door unexpectedly.
“Adopting a blanket policy not to buy goods or services offered at the door is a sure-fire way to stop any would-be fraudsters in their tracks. However, if you do decide to purchase something at your door, you should ask the seller for their ID or call the company to verify their identity before making any payments.
“If you encounter a fraudster, you should report this to Action Fraud in England or call Policing Scotland on 101 in Scotland and if you have any safety fears, dial 999 immediately.”
