Brightly coloured vape shops raise concerns about sales ages

CONCERNS have been raised regarding the number of vape shops in Clondalkin that appear to be marketed towards young people, with many adopting brightly coloured shop fronts and names similar to those of sweet shops.

Councillor Linda de Courcy voiced her concern regarding the number of vape shops in the village that are advertising the sale of sweets and nutritional products alongside nicotine products.

Upon entering one of these shops and questioning the staff about the sale of nutritional products, Cllr de Courcy was told that there are none in stock.

She noted the appearance of other vape shops in Clondalkin that have adopted appropriate signage and design, advertising the strict sale of vapes to adults over the age of 18.

“The other Vape shop, in The Mill, for example, is much more adult focused, it doesn’t have lots of colors, it clearly says vapes, whereas these ones in the village look to be deliberately targeting children.”

Cllr de Courcy hopes to raise awareness about the potential illegal sale of nicotine products to children under 18, and is calling on parents to report any situations where children have been sold vapes to the relevant authorities, including An Garda Síochána and the Environmental Health Office.

“If they’re not doing anything illegal, then that’s fine. But if they are doing something that is illegal, then I’m putting a call out to people to let the relevant people know.”

Another point of concern for Cllr de Courcy was the anti-social behaviour that occurs within the vicinity of these vape shops, as there have been reports of groups of teenagers loitering outside daily.

“These vape shops seem to be a magnet for antisocial behaviour and it is intimidating to adults, it’s intimidating to children, especially at nighttime, it makes it a less pleasant place.

“If you want to go to dinner, if you want to go for drinks or whatever, and you’ve got 15 or 20 teenagers hanging around, most people don’t want to walk past them.”

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme