19/04/2026
I own a legitimate v**e shop , I’ve had it for 3 years , and what’s coming isn’t just about kids/ youths, it’s about squeezing an entire independent industry.
The government talks about youth va**ng, but the reality for shops like mine is a completely different picture. We’re facing a new tax on v**e products, extra compliance layers like duty stamps, tighter controls on how we display, market and even design what we sell. That’s not a targeted fix- that’s a full overhaul.
Every new rule adds cost. Every new cost either gets passed on to customers or eats into already tight margins. And when prices go up, people don’t magically quit ni****ne- they either go back to ci******es or turn to the black market.
Independent v**e shops have been helping adult smokers switch for years. We check ID’s . We know our customers. We’re not the problem.
But these policies hit small, legitimate businesses the hardest, while bigger players and illicit sellers find ways around them.
If this was purely about protecting young people, you’d see tighter enforcement of existing age laws and actions against illegal imports. Instead, we’re getting taxes and restrictions that look a lot like revenue raising dressed up as public health.
This isn’t just regulation, it’s a slow suffocation of a sector that’s actually reduced smoking.
