Parents have reacted with horror to the opening of a “vapes and candy” shop just around the corner from a high school.
The store, painted pink, was slammed as a “disgrace” and an “embarrassment” by locals in Denny.
Formerly just a vape shop, the storefront sign now reads “Hayz Vape/Hayz Candy” with a teddy bear logo in the middle.
It is located at a busy crossroads en route to the local high school – about a 10-minute walk up the road for schoolkids.
One parent told our sister paper, the Daily Record: “It is also next door to the ‘candied’ ice cream shop.
“I find it a disgrace our local council would allow vape shops to open so close to a school, and to advertise and sell sweets in the same premises is disgusting.
“How can we prevent young people taking up smoking vapes if we are encouraging them into these brightly-coloured sweet shops on the way to school?”
They added: “The town is already littered with rubbish and vapes are discarded all around the streets and pathways to and from the high school... it is such an embarrassment to the town.”
Falkirk Council chiefs stressed there was nothing illegal about the branding of the store which used to be a betting shop. But campaigners and politicians hit out at the “disturbing” findings amid growing alarm over the widespread use of vaping products among kids, including on school premises.
Recent statistics show one in 10 15-year-old Scots admits to regularly vaping – up from three per cent a few years ago.
Social media posts from the Denny business include promotional images of a “chew vape” surrounded by chewy sweets.
Other updates include encouraging the use of GoHenry cards – pre-paid debit cards available for youngsters aged six to 18.
Despite the store selling both vapes and sweets, on Facebook it uses two different pages – “Hayz Vape” and “Hayz Candy”.
A post on the Hayz Candy page which is shared by Hayz Vape, on April 21, said: “Hi everyone, just to let you know that the card Matchine [sic] now accepts go Henry cards.”
Sheila Duffy, boss of health charity ASH Scotland, said: “The image of a teddy bear in the store’s signage and a photo of a vape surrounded by sweets on the shop’s Facebook page is extremely troubling.
“By associating vaping with the allure of candy treats, shops like these could be creating a dangerous connection in the minds of children, leading them to believe that e-cigarettes are harmless.”
The Scottish Government is considering tougher rules on marketing and branding of e-cigs – as well as a potential wholesale ban on disposable devices.
The explosion in teen vaping has come as polluting disposable brands have soared in popularity, with fears the fruity, bright-coloured devices are being targeted at kids.
Scottish Green MSP Gillian Mackay said: “Practices like selling vapes alongside sweets, and advertising the acceptance of debit cards designed for children as young as six, are leading to a boom in the number of children vaping at younger ages.
“This kind of advertising is at the heart of a growing problem.”
A Falkirk Council spokesman said it has no legal powers to prohibit the opening of premises selling vapes.
Hayz Vape & Hayz Candy declined to comment.
