Vape shop receives '40 requests' for illegal items

The owners of a vape shop said they put a warning sign in their window after receiving more than 40 requests in two weeks for illegal products.

The Vape Shop in Chelmsford said would-be customers had asked for products including cannabis and drug dealing paraphernalia since it opened on New Year's Eve.

A sign was temporarily posted in the window by one of the owners, pleading with customers to stop asking them.

"We've come across this in other shops in the past, but never on this scale," said Blair, one of the co-owners.

"It's obviously going to be answered with a polite 'no'."

He added: "I think the vaping industry as a whole was plagued by rogue traders from the start.

"As more regulation comes into the industry... hopefully we'll start to see the image cleaned up as these rogue traders move on to a different industry."

Blair's business partner Craig said requests had included people wanting loose tobacco cigarettes that have not had VAT paid on them, cannabis grinders, scales, "little dealer bags" and disposable vapes that were not compliant with the Tobacco Products Directive.

Craig said some prospective customers had been discreet, asking for "under-counter products" and others were "blatant and brazen".

"We don't want to be tarnished with that kind of brush... being a company that's selling illegal products," he explained.

The pair said they had owned vape shops for seven years.

In 2023, the number of illegal vapes seized at the border quadrupled compared with the year before.

In October, ministers announced that disposable vapes would be banned in England and Wales after calls to protect children and prevent environmental damage.

Advice on the NHS website says that early evidence suggests vaping is substantially less harmful than cigarettes and contains far fewer toxins.

However, doctors say more research is needed to fully understand their health effects, and in December 2023, the World Health Organization warned of "alarming evidence" of the risks vapes could pose.

The vapour inhaled contains a small amount of chemicals, often including the addictive substance nicotine.

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