02/08/2026
Yesterday marked 10 years since Vapour Central opened on the high street.
It should have been a straightforward celebration, but with everything currently being proposed around va**ng, it felt a bit more complicated than that.
Over the past 12 years, we have created local jobs, worked with stop-smoking services, trained NHS staff and helped a lot of people move away from ci******es. That is why it was frustrating to see v**e shops described by the Government as “anti-social businesses”.
There are clearly shops selling illegal products and ignoring the rules, and I fully support stronger licensing and enforcement against them. But responsible specialist shops should not all be treated the same.
The new duty, possible packaging and display restrictions, rising costs and the growing illegal market could have a serious impact on businesses like ours, as well as UK manufacturers, wholesalers and employees across the industry.
I have written an open letter explaining my concerns and what I think the Government should do differently.
You can read it here:
https://www.vapourcentral.co.uk/blogs/news/open-letter-do-not-destroy-britain-s-legitimate-specialist-va**ng-industry
