This page provides statistics relating to Portsmouth Trading Standards’ enforcement activity on illegal tobacco, vapes, other associated products and underage sales. It’s updated twice a year and is presented in financial year format from April – March.
If you need further details, you can submit a Freedom of Information request.
| Year | Underage Sales | Illicit Vaping Products | Illicit Tobacco Products |
| 2021-2022 | 16 | 1 | 37 |
| 2022-2023 | 45 | 4 | 38 |
| 2023-2024 | 35 | 12 | 62 |
| 2024-2025 | 35 | 9 | 78 |
| 2025-2026 | 70 | 63 | 293 |
HRT = hand‑rolling tobacco
| Year | Cigarettes (sticks) | Cigarettes Total Value | HRT (Kg / packs) | HRT Total Value | Shisha (Kg / packs) | Shisha Total Value | Vapes (packs) | Vapes Total Value | Nicotine Pouches |
| 2019-2020 | 46,780 | £27,912 | 7.25kg / 146 packs | £4,103 | 47.45kg / 238 packs | £3,568 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020-2021 | 29,420 | £17,554 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021-2022 | 171,980 | £102,615 | 50.65kg / 1,013 packs | £31,403 | 25.42kg / 127 packs | £1,904 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022-2023 | 58,120 | £34,678 | 5.65kg / 113 packs | £3,796 | 27.85kg / 140 packs | £2,380 | 2,367 | £30,179 | 0 |
| 2023-2024 | 50,860 | £30,346 | 7.65kg / 153 packs | £5,829 | 26.6kg / 145 packs | £2,318 | 3,593 | £43,080 | 29 |
| 2024-2025 | 30,360 | £21,670 | 24.4kg / 483 packs | £18,402 | 17.6kg / 88 packs | £1,407 | 1,011 | £12,121 | 0 |
| 2025-2026 | 428,520 | £295,679 | 74.6kg / 1,492 packs | £64,678 | 33kg / 219 packs | £3,501 | 10,017 | £120,104 | 130 |
| Enforcement action | 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | 2024-2025 | 2025-2026 |
| Retail advice visits – Tobacco, Vapes, Underage sales and other non-compliance | Unknown | Unknown | 10 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Retail inspections – Tobacco and Vapes | 7 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 37 |
| Retail inspections which led to a seizure – Tobacco and Vapes | 6 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 33 |
| Shops selling illegal Tobacco (evidenced from a seizure or test purchase) | Unknown | Unknown | 7 | 12 | 23 | 39 | 33 |
| Shops selling illegal vapes (evidenced from a seizure or test purchase) | Unknown | Unknown | 0 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| Formal Warnings/ Compliance Notices issued – Tobacco and Vapes | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | 2 | 13 | 8 | 25 |
| Simple Cautions issued for tobacco related offences | Unknown | Unknown | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Prosecutions taken by Portsmouth city council for tobacco related offences | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Confiscation proceedings under Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 – Tobacco and Vape offending | None | None | 1 | None | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Confiscation values (£) – Tobacco and Vape offending | 0 | 0 | £13,768 | 0 | £30,000 £13,259.96 |
£38,531.16 |
|
| Shops closed by Portsmouth city council for tobacco related offences | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (3-month closure extended for further 3 months) | 2 (3-month closures each) | 1 (3-month closure order) |
The single use vape ban came into force from 1 June 2025 so previous years data is not relevant.
| Quarter | Monetary penalties issued | Total value of monetary penalties | Notices issued |
| Q1 2025 (April – June) | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Q2 2025 (July – September) | 2 | £651.29 | 7 |
| Q3 2025 (October – December) | 5 | £1,654.40 | 5 |
| Q4 2026 (January-March) | 2 | £400 | 2 |
Underage sale (tested with a 15-16 year old volunteer)
| Year | Product type | No sale made | Sale made |
| 2022-2023 | Alcohol | 6 | 3 |
| Tobacco | 0 | 0 | |
| Vape | 0 | 0 | |
| 2023-2024 | Alcohol | 15 | 5 |
| Tobacco | 2 | 1 | |
| Vape | 18 | 2 | |
| 2024-2025 | Alcohol | 0 | 0 |
| Tobacco | 0 | 0 | |
| Vape | 1 | 0 | |
| 2025-2026 | Alcohol | 0 | 0 |
| Tobacco | 0 | 0 | |
| Vape | 0 | 0 |
Illicit product
| Year | Product type | No sale made | Sale made |
| 2022-2023 | Tobacco | 0 | 11 |
| Vape | 0 | 0 | |
| 2023-2024 | Tobacco | 4 | 34 |
| Vape | 0 | 21 | |
| 2024-2025 | Tobacco | 20 | 43 |
| Vape | 6 | 33 | |
| 2025-2026 | Tobacco | 11 | 24 |
| Vape | 1 | 5 |
