Under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016, UK e-cigarette and e-liquid producers have a legal duty to run their own vigilance system. Part 6 of those regulations, specifically regulations 37 and 39, requires them to collect information about suspected adverse effects and take corrective action immediately if a product is found not to be safe, not of good quality, or not conforming to the rules. That is the regulatory backbone behind every genuine fault report.

In practice, a genuine fault usually means a device that overheats, swells, leaks heavily or stops working through no fault of use, a suspected adverse reaction, or a product that appears counterfeit. Ordinary wear, like a worn coil or a battery holding less charge over time, is not the same thing and needs no report.

Counterfeit and illicit vapes are a recurring enforcement target in the UK, and a handful of checks cover most of what to look for.

• The health warning should read exactly "This product contains nicotine which is a highly addictive substance" and cover roughly 30 percent of the front and back of the packaging. Anything shorter, reworded or missing is a red flag.
• From 1 October 2026, legally taxed e-liquid must carry a physical or digital duty stamp. A bottle without one, bought after that date, is worth questioning.
• Genuine products carry clear UK retailer or importer contact details. No contact details at all is a warning sign.
• A price that looks too good to be true, especially for a well known brand, often is.
• A seller who skips age verification at the point of sale is not operating within UK rules, whatever the product itself turns out to be.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency runs the Yellow Card Scheme, the UK's official system for reporting suspected problems with medicines and, since 2016, e-cigarettes and e-liquids too. Reports can cover a suspected adverse reaction, a device not working to specification, or a suspected counterfeit.

Anyone can submit a report, whether a member of the public, a healthcare professional or a retailer, through the Yellow Card website, and a guest submission needs no account. Manufacturers and importers have their own separate duty to notify the MHRA directly, so a consumer report sits alongside that system rather than replacing it. Reporting will not itself get you a refund, since that comes from consumer law instead, but it feeds the official monitoring that can lead to a product being investigated or withdrawn.

Reporting a safety issue to the MHRA is separate from getting a refund or repair, which comes under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Goods bought from a trader must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. If a vape fails that standard, section 22 of the Act generally gives a short term right to reject it and claim a full refund within 30 days of receiving it.

After that window, the retailer usually gets one attempt to repair or replace the item before a different remedy applies, such as a price reduction or a final right to reject. None of this depends on reporting anything to the MHRA first. The simplest step is to contact the retailer you bought it from, explain the fault, and keep your receipt. Our Customer Support page and Contact Us page have the details for reaching us directly if that retailer is Ecosmok.