Labour has made a strong start tackling the illicit economy on Britain’s high streets. Illegal tobacco, non-compliant vapes, tax evasion and organised criminality are not victimless offences: they undermine legitimate businesses, deprive the Exchequer of essential revenue and expose consumers, particularly children and young people, to products that can contain dangerous or unknown substances with the potential to cause serious harm.
The Government deserves credit for recognising the problem and putting enforcement back at the centre of its response, including the Prime Minister’s announcement that all new vape shops will require planning permission. But enforcement alone will not be enough. The next stage must be a comprehensive licensing and product testing regime capable of driving rogue operators out of our communities altogether and keeping children and young people safe.
In 2025, the Government provided an extra £10 million for Trading Standards to strengthen local enforcement. National Trading Standards reported that more than one million illegal vapes, 19 million counterfeit cigarettes and more than five tonnes of illicit hand rolling tobacco had been seized in the previous year alone, a phenomenal amount, and probably the tip of the iceberg. In May 2026, that enforcement was reinforced by a much wider assault on criminality, with a £30 million crackdown on rogue high street shops targeting organised crime, money laundering, tax evasion and illegal working. This is the kind of action communities have been demanding. But Labour now needs to go further.
Testing: making product safety enforceable
Legitimate vapes rightly must abide by regulations: manufacturers and importers must notify products before sale, and provide information on ingredients, toxicology and emissions. But notification is not testing. It is nothing like a mandatory, independent pre-market regime, under which every vape on sale has been certified as safe.
That gap is where the criminals live. A criminal smuggler has no interest in paperwork and regulation, only in profit, with total disregard for public safety. Products must be traceable, and authorities must have the resources to test suspicious goods rapidly. Intelligence from that testing should expose dangerous products and the supply chains behind them, allowing Trading Standards, HMRC and police to go after the criminals responsible.
For honest retailers, rigorous standards protect confidence in what they sell. For criminals, testing increases the chances of being caught and prosecuted.
Licensing: making the right to sell conditional
As things stand, anyone can sell tobacco and nicotine products without a licence. The Government knows this is a problem, and the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 includes powers for a retail licensing scheme. The Government ran a call for evidence on licensing and product registration in October 2025, but as of July 2026 it is still being reviewed, and the consultation still hasn’t taken place. That timetable needs accelerating so that action can finally be taken.
Licensing would rewrite the relationship between retailer and regulator. Instead of enforcement officers chasing a rogue trader offence by offence, the right to sell tobacco and vaping products would itself become conditional on meeting clear standards. This would be a fair and equitable solution in line with Labour values. If a retailer sells illegal products, sells repeatedly to children, or sources from suppliers that cannot be traced, then the licence should be lost altogether. That is a deterrent worth having.
This is not simply a public health issue. It is a question of economic fairness, and fairness is at the heart of Labour’s mission to change Britain under Andy Burnham’s premiership. Every illegal vape sold represents unfair competition for a legitimate retailer who has paid their taxes, sourced compliant products and followed the rules. Rogue traders undercut responsible family businesses precisely because they ignore the law, and that is profoundly unfair. The corner shop that checks identification, pays its taxes and buys legitimate stock should not have to compete with a shop selling illicit cigarettes and illegal vapes. The Government’s wider high street crackdown, through Operation Machinize, already recognises this connection between illicit goods and wider criminal exploitation. That approach should now be embedded permanently.
Urgency: consult quickly, then legislate
The Government must consult as soon as possible on licensing. It should be thorough and designed carefully so that legitimate independent retailers are supported and determined criminals are stopped in their tracks.
The evidence base already exists, and enforcement agencies understand how rogue operators work. Every month without an effective licensing regime gives dishonest retailers more time to profit from the present system. The Government should bring forward the licensing consultation to 2026 and waste no time implementing the measures that Trading Standards and local authorities need.
Strict licensing should be the centrepiece of the next stage of its crackdown: a national system that identifies who is selling tobacco and vaping products, establishes enforceable conditions for doing so, and gives authorities meaningful sanctions against persistent offenders. Good regulation should make life easier for businesses that follow the rules and considerably harder for those that do not. Labour in office has already demonstrated it is prepared to confront the illicit economy, with more Trading Standards capacity, tougher enforcement, the High Street Organised Crime Unit and coordinated action against rogue shops marking substantial progress. Now the Government must finish the job.
Test suspicious products. Trace the supply chains. License retailers. Close persistent offenders. Protect children. And ensure honest family businesses no longer have to compete against criminals operating with impunity.
Cleaning up Britain’s high streets is pro-business, pro-community and pro-public health. It is an agenda Labour should pursue with confidence and urgency.
