'Red flag' vapes, filled with a chemical not known to trading standards, were sold to a reporter during an Echo investigation into illegal e-cigs. 

Two vapes, bought from shops on Durham's North Road, raise serious “red flags” with consumer watchdogs. 

Within 14 minutes, the Echo had been able to procure devices which were either illegal, unregulated, or untraceable according to regulators.  

Vapes bought in St News, and in Durham Tech, were filled with a mystery nicotine substitute, HRI, which has “no UK traceability”, and that Trading Standards officials had never even heard of. 

The Northern Echo: Our reporter heading into St News, on North Road

Our reporter was sold nicotine-free devices - containing mystery substance HRI - without being told the difference compared with regular vapes. 

In St News, in Durham City, our reporter asked for a device we know to be illegal by name. Instead, we were sold a 5,000 puff count 'Bloody Bar'. On the top shelf, they’re the biggest on offer, and cost £15.99.  

The packaging declares “this product contains HRI, which is a harm-reducing innovation.” In small print on the back, it says “this product contains no nicotine”.  

Online, information is scant about what HRI is – other vape shops selling Bloody Bars tout it as a “safer vaping alternative for the health-conscious vaper” promising “a hit equivalent to two per cent nicotine”, despite having a “ground-breaking 0 per cent nicotine formula”.  

The Northern Echo: Exiting with a HRI vape, that Trading Standards had never seen before.

However, no details about the chemical makeup of HRI, its safety, or how it creates nicotine-like effects, are available online.  

This substance is unknown to regulators. A Trading Standards spokesperson said: “HRI appears to be something made up by the producer.” 

When searching the Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency's list of vapes approved for sale in the UK, The Northern Echo could not find any reference to Bloody Bars. 

When sourcing new supplies of any e-cigarette or e-liquid product, the Government advises retailers to check that a notification has been published on that notified product list.

Nicotine-free products, which Bloody Bars are, do not have limits on how big they can be imposed by legislation. 

The Northern Echo: Bloody Bars contain HRI, a nicotine replacement, that 'appears to have been made up by the manufacturer.Bloody Bars contain HRI, a nicotine replacement, that 'appears to have been made up by the manufacturer. (Image: Sarah Caldecott)

Despite this, regulators told The Northern Echo that there are “red flags” about their packaging, and the way they were sold to us.  It is unknown whether these are legal to sell in the UK. 

Elsewhere, Bloody Bars are sold with the disclaimer: "This product contains HRTP which is which is a harm reducing technology platform." 

In Durham Tech, our reporter buys a second Bloody Bar, again after asking for a specific illegal device. Though this is the same make as the device containing HRI liquid, the vendor takes it out of the box before handing it over the counter. It is difficult to know what the vapes contain without the manufacturer’s packaging, and no mention of HRI is made.  

To the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, this move is “a big red flag”.  

They say: “We’ve heard about this, particularly from children who buy. We suspect that’s mainly because it’s the packaging which enables us to be certain of the breaches of the regulations.” 

In this shop, our 23-year-old reporter is asked for her ID, for the first time all day. The shopkeeper explains that it is about the time that children are leaving school, and he does not want to sell to anyone underage.  

The Northern Echo: Durham Tech removed packaging from the vape sold to our reporter.

When approached for comment on the sale of the Bloody Bar, a Durham Tech spokesperson said: "We also did try to get in touch regarding the HRI and HRTP but couldn't find any information from Trading Standards.

"We can try to see if we can get any more updates from the supplier. The product did say no nicotine.

"Regarding the packaging of this or any other products we sell, we help customers to recycle them properly and keep the waste to minimum."

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A spokesperson for the Chartered Trading Standards Institute said: “There is a robust regulatory framework to try to ensure that nicotine-containing vape products are available for smokers looking to quit their hugely dangerous tobacco habit. Children and non-smokers should not use them.  

“Illegal vapes do not attempt to comply with the regulations and are often sold to children, risking tying them to an immensely addictive substance.  

“They undermine regulations and are often imported and distributed via organised criminal networks bringing criminality into our communities.”