TRADING STANDARDS
ILLEGAL VAPES
Geek Bar combats counterfeit and non-compliant products The company has produced a leaflet which will accompany all its products heading to the UK.
G
eek Bar has launched an information campaign aimed at retailers across the UK in a further attempt to stem the flow of counterfeit and non-compliant vaping products finding their way onto the market. The company has produced a leaflet which will accompany all Geek Bar products heading to the UK from this month. The leaflet states: “It has come to our attention that there are counterfeit
products on the market, claiming to be genuine Geek Bar vapes. “We cannot vouch for the safety of counterfeit products and would urge customers to verify their Geek Bar vapes at our website http://www.geekbar.com/ where you can input the unique serial number and instantly identify whether it is a genuine product.” The leaflet is also being sent to all trading standards teams across the UK.
Geek Bar has launched several other initiatives to crack down on counterfeit and non-compliant products in recent weeks. Billy Rahman, Managing Director at vape manufacturer iBreathe, is acting as a consultant for Geek Bar. He has established a primary authority arrangement with his local council, Oldham in Greater Manchester, in which trading standards officers there will co-ordinate operations with their counterparts around the country in respect to counterfeit and non-compliant disposable vape products. He is also working alongside compliance company Arcus Compliance to ensure that all classification, labelling and packaging requirements for Geek Bar products being sold around the UK are met. Meanwhile, Geek Bar has published a list of approved UK distributors and has worked with the authorities in China to close 12 counterfeit factories in recent months. It is also in the process of warning all non-official Geek Bar social media sites that they must cease to continue under the Geek Bar name. Retailers and distributors can report suspected counterfeit and non-compliant products at legal@geekbar.com [mailto:legal@geekbar.com]. The company is incentivising retailers to report products that do not comply with UK regulations.
WEDNESDAY 12TH JANUARY 2022 / ISSUE 87 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / 23
