BRITAIN’S so-called “Silcon Valley of Vapes” is bracing for a crackdown on the devices – with customers already swapping e-cigs for energy drinks like Red Bull.
Blackburn has been dubbed “the vape capital of the UK” with a survey finding 22.5 e-cig shops per 100,000 people and nine manufacturers based in the former industrial town.
Residents say while the streets may have once smelt of the smoke of industrial mills – now they stink of the sweet smell of flavoured vapes.
And they say they often see their roads cluttered with discarded boxes, fliers and tossed out vapes.
Trouble is brewing for the shops and factories that call the town home with a raft of .
The tough new rules are part of Labour’s efforts to .
Blackburn’s affinity with the vape industry – and the number of shops – saw it dubbed the “Silicon Valley of Vapes” by The Sunday Times.
Street cleaner Kevin Oates, 59, gave up smoking when his wife died of breast cancer, but started back up two years later when his mum died.
Kevin told The Sun: “I’ve been doing this job two years and I get to pick up more vape rubbish than anything else in the town centre.
“First you find the advert, then you find the wrapper, then the box and then the information leaflet, so much rubbish from just one product.”
Retired engineer Rob Sewell, 65, is aware of the vaping phenomenon as he chats to vape holding Emma Brownridge, 23, who started on e-cigs at school about nine years ago.
Emma said: “We all used to be behind the bushes and smoking – now for the last three years I am on the strawberry flavour vapes.”
Rob added: “Vaping is more popular than smoking. I’ve never vaped and gave up smoking 20 years ago.
“I live in Bamber Bridge and have seen a lot of discarded vapes both here in Blackburn and there – they are everywhere.”
Another pensioner, who didn’t wish to be named, added: “I don’t like the aroma of the vapes. In Blackburn that smell is everywhere and I don’t like it.”
The crackdown is coming after Blackburn’s council was told over half of the 107 schoolchildren surveyed in the town had used nicotine vapes.
And a quarter revealed they had used drug-laced vapes.
Forty-one per cent of the children surveyed said they had been given a vape by someone they knew.
Trading standards will also be handed new powers – and it comes as a new tax is slapped on vaping, as .
New rules in place from tomorrow include a total ban on selling vapes to anyone under the age of 18, regardless of whether the product contains nicotine.
It brings vapes – with estimates saying between 6 per cent of children aged between 11 and 17 puff on the devices – in line to booze and cigarettes.
The law will also change to ban giving away vaping or nicotine products for free, offering substantial discounts and giving away or selling coupons to promote the products.
Buying nicotine products on behalf of an under 18 will also be an offence.
During The Sun’s visit to Blackburn, we spoke to Lilly Huncoat, 18, who is studying health and social, has been vaping with pals for eight years.
Lilly said: “I don’t know what got me into it, but everybody did it, so I did as well.”
Maddison Harvey, 21, also started out vaping at school as a teenager. Maddison said: “I started on e-cigs when I was about 14. I started vaping to stop smoking.
“Everyone at school did it. These days there are lots of kids still vaping and smoking.
“My two younger siblings don’t smoke or vape though.
“But when I was at school everyone did it and they had to start taking them off people.”
Another confirmed smoker Karen Duckworth, 41, said: “I’ve been smoking 30 years since I was 11.
“I don’t vape as my chest cannot handle the vapes – I have my cigarettes.
“I’ve tried them, but they all make me have a coughing fit.”
In Blackburn, half of 107 schoolchildren surveyed had used nicotine vapes and a quarter revealed they had used drug-laced vapes.
And 41 per cent of the children surveyed said they had been given a vape by someone they knew.
Vape shop owners are seriously worried about their future ahead of the lockdown.
Blackburn market is dominated by vape shops with the sector employing 2,000 staff in the area.
At Allied E-Cig owner R Patel, 50, is concerned for his shop.
He said: ‘It is very scary times. Here we are at lunchtime and that’s supposed to be the busiest time of the day and nobody is about.”
He said: “When Covid hit we had to throw lots and lots of stock away, we don’t know if we will be here this time next year.
“Me and my wife work here for six days a week and then work the seventh day sorting stock.
“It’s the first time in my life that I’ve been worried about my future, I used to work in a call centre for British Telecom, but now I am confused as I don’t know where we are going.
“As it stands we work seven days a week and are just surviving.”
His fear was shared by the manager of Murrary E-Cigs who reckoned the ban on disposable vapes a couple of years ago kicked off a massive downturn in trade.
And meanwhile, opposite the Udat vape shop owner Hasib Patel, 65, says sales are on the decline.
And he said Red Bulls have become his most popular sale instead.
Hasib said: “I’ve had the shop for 23 years and we moved into vapes four years ago, but since the disposable ban came in I am selling less vapes.
“The Red Bull really is my best selling product now, I started vaping and back then vapes were selling good and cigarettes were still selling, but now both have declined a lot.”
Lancashire factories make millions of vapes every year, supplying the whole country and the world.
Those firms rake in half a billion pounds in annual sales and employ more than 2,000 people, from assembly line workers to chemists.
Phil Riley, the Labour leader of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, has praised an boost from “very reputable” local businesses at the “leading edge of the industry”.
But‘s new vape policy is feared to threaten the prosperity of the area’s vape industry.
Around 5.4million people in the UK smoke – but there is ongoing concern children are taking up the habit.
Blackburn councillor Damian Talbot says the authorities are working to lower the number of children vaping.
He said: “As a local authority, our view is that vapes should only ever be used as a tool to quit smoking, as a short-term harm reduction support offer for adult smokers.
“We believe that those who have never smoked should not begin vaping.
“We believe that children and young people should not vape, that this is harmful and must be prevented and our approach focuses on providing support and education.”
Professor Abdul Razaq, Blackburn with Darwen’s Director of Public Health, said: “We will ensure that our position on vaping remains evidence-led, and also that it evolves to consider developments in national guidance, the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 legislation, together with local insights, offers of support and implementation of key measures to ensure a smoke-free generation.”
Blackburn is also home to e-liquid manufacturer Flavour Warehouse which turned over £161million last year and employs over 500 people.
Its chief executive, Simon Brierley, told The Sun that Blackburn’s successful vape firms “support hundreds of local jobs and generate investment”
He Said: “At a time when many towns are competing for high-quality employment and private sector investment, having ambitious businesses that manufacture, distribute and sell products nationally and internationally is a positive for our local economy.
“The sector reflects many of the strengths that have long defined East Lancashire, including entrepreneurship, innovation, logistics expertise and a strong trading tradition.”
