Vape shops have started transforming into “exotic” candy and candy stores while continuing to sell e-cigarettes. The Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control (CQCT) denounces this strategy likely to attract young consumers of a product prohibited for people under 18 years of age.
The rules governing shops specializing in vaping are clear: in order to be able to display their products on shelves in view of customers, these shops can only sell vaping articles (and nothing else), the merchandise must not be visible from outside the store and access is prohibited to minors.
Faced with these constraints, vaping article merchants have changed their business model in an unprecedented way. They now present their businesses as candy stores that also offer vaping items. These merchants are modeled after convenience stores and gas stations, which have the right to sell vaping goods to people 18 and older (if that merchandise is hidden) while offering their other products to any customers, including children.
The CQCT denounces this strategy of the vaping industry. In a letter addressed to the Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, the organization says it observes a “worrying trend”: “Vaping products are very closely associated with sweets, a panoply of flavors and colors and to a welcoming atmosphere for young people. »
Flory Doucas, co-director and spokesperson for the Coalition, believes that this marketing strategy confirms the need to ban flavors in vaping products. “We see the industry’s efforts to bring young people into their businesses. If the products didn’t have flavours, young people wouldn’t be interested in them,” she says.
In its complaint, the CQCT sounds the alarm about “shops specializing in vaping products [vapoterie] that physically display themselves as vape shops [nom et enseigne externe] while on the internet [et surtout à l’intérieur des magasins], they present themselves more as shops specializing in exotic sweets. Conversely, in some rarer cases, these are candy shops that also offer vaping products”.
“Essential” businesses
According to what The duty found, some specialized vaping shops made this change in business model in 2021, during periods of confinement due to the pandemic. Convenience stores, grocery stores and the shops of the Société des alcools du Québec or the Société québécoise du cannabis were considered essential services that could remain open, but vaping shops were not.
To be able to reopen their doors, retailers of vaping products have transformed themselves into “convenience stores” – offering chips, candies and other goodies. These businesses thus became “essential” in the event of confinement.
A Vape Town specialty store on Sainte-Catherine Street West has adopted this strategy. The business is displayed as a vapoterie: “ARTICLES POUR VAPOTEURS 18 +”, indicates the storefront. Upon entering the shop, customers discover displays of sweets. The vaping items are in another room, at the back, separated by a curtain.
“We are a grocery store with a nicotine permit. It’s the trend now,” explains Kamal Kamareddine, store manager.
Young people under the age of 18 can buy candy, but “two pieces of ID are always required” for those who want to buy vaping products, he said.
We see the industry’s efforts to bring young people into their businesses. If the products did not have aromas, young people would not be interested in them.
During the passage of Duty, two groups of students dressed in school uniforms came to buy vaping items. They were shown the door: “Out, girls! »
A former vape shop, located in a tunnel between two shopping centers in downtown Montreal, has also become an imported candy store. The CQCT found that this business also offers vaping products in view of customers, which violates the law. The duty was able to observe bottles of vaping liquid in plain view, on a store shelf.
A marginal trend
The Coalition cites two vaping chains, Vape Town (which also goes by the name Munchiz) and Eurovap, which now offer treats. In Quebec, Shack à Snack also offers candy and vaping products under one roof, according to the company’s website. Our calls and messages to speak to the management of these companies went unanswered.
This strategy of offering both vaping items and candy remains marginal, says Christina Xydous, owner of the specialty chain La Vapote, which operates four vaping shops — soon to be five — in the Montreal area.
“It’s like in a convenience store. If the vaping products are hidden, it’s perfectly legal,” explains the businesswoman. She is “comfortable saying the government should take action” against candy stores that break the law by placing vaping products in plain sight of customers.
We’re a grocery store with a nicotine license. It’s the trend now.
In its specialized shops, Christina Xydous only sells vaping items (and no candy), the products are not visible from outside its shops and access is prohibited to minors.
The Ministry of Health and Social Services has indicated that it is “aware that the vaping product industry is in constant transformation and remains vigilant to ensure strict compliance with the Tobacco Control Act”.
Specialty shops must “send to the minister a written notice indicating the name and address of the point of sale,” said Robert Maranda, spokesman for the ministry. As for convenience stores, tobacconists, gas stations or grocery stores, they “do not have to send a written notice to the Minister to indicate that they sell vaping products”.