Vape stores are concentrated around schools and in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities, Australian researchers have shown for the first time in an audit of dedicated shops in Western Australia.
The study led by researchers from the University of Notre Dame Australia and published on Wednesday in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health found almost nine out of 10 vape stores were within walking distance of schools.
The researchers also found vape store density was nearly seven times higher in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas compared with wealthier suburbs.
The researchers identified 194 dedicated e-cigarette retailers in WA after manually searching the internet and social media, and measured their proximity to 1,144 government, independent and Catholic schools.
They found approximately one in three vape stores were located within 500m of a school and 88% were located within 1km of a school.
The study focused on brick-and-mortar vape stores because of their overt advertising of vaping products and because evidence shows that first-time exposure to vape products often occurs in a physical retailer setting.
The researchers said because the audit findings focused only on dedicated vape stores, they underestimate the total number of e-cigarette retailers in the state, which can also include convenience stores and independent supermarkets.
Prof Lisa Wood, a senior author of the paper from the Institute for Health Research at Notre Dame University, said the study was the first of its kind to look comprehensively at the relationship between vape store location and area of disadvantage, as well as the first state-wide study in Australia to look at proximity of bricks-and-mortar vape stores to schools.
Because there is no public registry of vape stores in WA, unlike for tobacco retailers which have a licensing scheme, Wood said: “We have to be vigilant in keeping an eye on the landscape of vape stores.”
The study’s finding of 159 dedicated vape stores in Perth represents an increase of 120% since a previous audit of vape stores in the city in 2019 identified 72 retailers across vape shops, tobacconists or smoke shops.
Exclusive data obtained by Guardian Australia in November showed that more than 600 vape stores had opened in New South Wales in the first half of 2023 despite the federal government announcing tough reforms that will ban sales from convenience stores.
A ban on the importation of disposable single-use vapes came into effect on 1 January but Wood said the rest of the federal reforms that will ban all vaping products “can’t come soon enough”.
“Until the new round of reforms are passed, [vape stores] are continuing promoting and selling their product,” she said. “Legislation is not being solely driven by government or public health community, it’s also parents saying enough is enough.”
While the study was focused on WAa, Wood said she would expect similar findings if the research were replicated in other states or territories.
The University of Sydney tobacco control expert Prof Becky Freeman said: “This is a high quality study that adds to our understanding of how and where vaping products are sold in WA.
“Across Australia, we have limited data on the actual number of outlets that sell vapes, this is due to two key reasons. Firstly, most vaping products sold are illicit products and secondly, vape retailers are not licensed in most Australian states and territories.
“That said, with the planned Federal reforms coming in 2024 that will ban the retail sell of all vaping products, across all Australian jurisdictions, vape shops are set to become a thing of the past.”
Freeman said global and Australian research had shown tobacco retailers were concentrated in low socioeconomic status neighbourhoods and that this study suggested a similar trend in terms of vape shop concentration.
