A vape shop owner has urged Liverpool City Council to make a distinction between reputable stores and 'irresponsible' pop-up shops after it announced a crackdown on the addictive nicotine products.
Councillors raised concerns last month after reports from Action on Smoking and Health showed 40.1% of children getting hooked on vapes had never smoked before. They said companies deliberately marketed the addictive products to children with sweet flavours like strawberry ice cream, bubblegum, and blueberry.
But Adam Williams, owner of Rojeans in Cavern Walks, says there are differences between specialist vape shop owners and those willing to flog their goods illegally to under-18s.
READ MORE: Council vows war on 'irresponsible' vape companies as kids get hooked on sweet-flavoured nicotine
He said: "Most of my customers are 30-plus. Some of them are pensioners. I don't get children in, and they're not allowed in the shop anyway. The one or two who do come in get hoofed out, so there's no word on the street they can buy them from here.
"Most specialists like myself started as smokers and saw the benefits, so they can sell with conviction, whereas for some other shops it's just another fast buck, and if they can get away with selling to kids, some of them do. Not all of them - but some do.
"Most specialist vape shops like myself and others in the city all check ages. I don't need to very often, but when I do it's video recorded and recorded on the till as well.
"It's a combination of ethics and just wanting to comply with the law."
Vape pens, or e-cigarettes, were first introduced in China in 2003 as an alternative to cigarettes. They are promoted by the NHS as a way for smokers to more safely manage their nicotine cravings, as they do not produce tar or carbon monoxide - two of the most harmful elements found in tobacco smoke.
The liquid and vapour contain some potentially harmful chemicals also found in cigarette smoke, but at much lower levels.
Professor Matthew Ashton, Director of Public Health for Liverpool, said: "There is growing evidence that e-cigarettes can help people manage their nicotine cravings – but this isn’t without risk - and we don’t want to end up in a situation where one harmful product or habit is simply replaced by another."
Councillors Anthony Lavelle and Carol Sung, who put forward the motion to take a stand against 'irresponsible' vape companies, said manufacturers deliberately targeted children with colourful packaging and sweet flavours.
Adam, 62, who has been in the vape selling business for 12 years, said: "You could say it's the other way around, and that the kids flavours appeal to adults.
"Around 80% of adults prefer a non-tobacco flavour. If they are smoking rollies or strong cigarettes I suggest they start on tobacco just until they get a feel for it, but after a while they'll switch to a flavour, and once they do they don't go back to tobacco.
"If you have a pharmaceutical product, say throat lozenges, you won't see that being sold in tobacco flavour. Nobody wants a tobacco flavoured medicine, they'd rather have something that tastes like fruit. That's why most of the vapes have flavours you'd call kiddie-friendly. Aside from menthol, I don't know of any nicotine replacement that is tobacco flavoured."
According to Action on Smoking and Health, 15.8% of 11 to 17-year-olds tried vaping in 2022 compared to 11.3% the previous year.
Councillors passed a motion to fight the rising number of young people vaping by cracking down on illegal sales to under-18s with an 'underage sales test purchasing operation' focusing on the poorer areas of Liverpool. Work will be done to identify vape-addicted children in schools, and they will be offered support from the stop smoking service, Smoke Free Liverpool.
Adam said: "I won't serve anybody who is not a smoker or former smoker. I've turned away sales in the past to people who wanted it for totally the wrong reasons, which is usually because their mates are on it, it's a new thing and they want to give it a try.
"I've had customers on inhalers who are no longer on inhalers. I've had a lot of customers whose health has improved. Some of them now have the lungs of non-smokers."
Rojeans customer Debbie Kinsella, who switched the cherry bakewell-flavoured vapes after smoking tobacco for more than 30 years, said: "I smoked since I was 14. I'd given up a couple of times and gone back on them, but since I've been on vapes I haven't."
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