Even as more legislation looms, the rise of "candy and vape" shops continues

Passersby on Thursday late morning occasionally paused to glance at the window poster, announcing the new shop at the southern end of Rathmines.

Inside were ladders and empty white shelves. Mars Mix, an American snacks and vape shop, is "Opening Soon!", says the sign in red, white and blue.

A sister store is already open in the north inner-city on Bloom Lane, with displays stocked with bags of crisps in all kinds of flavours.

There are cheese and ketchup Cheetos, and "xtreme" lime Takis. There are bags of Jellylicious peelable gummies, and fridges of energy drinks.

Behind the counter, meanwhile, is an unbroken wall of vape packets – Lost Mary, IVG, and so on – in a kaleidoscope of colours.

Earlier this summer, a different outlet, MaxCloud Mart, opened on Emmet Road, in Inchicore advertising a similar combo of products: candy and vapes.

Last September, XMania vape and American sweet shop opened in Clondalkin.

The appearance of the shops in and around Dublin with bright displays of vapes, alongside vast bags of American sweets and crisps, is perhaps surprising for the timing.

The Department of Health has in recent years rolled out more robust laws aimed at protecting young Dubliners, children and teenagers, from being drawn into vaping.

More legislation is in the works, too.

A pending bill won't stop vapes being sold alongside other products in "mixed retail", said a spokesperson for the Department of Health. But it does restrict the advertising, display, and flavours of "nicotine products", they said.

The government's past and pending changes are really welcome, said Dr Paul Kavanagh, chair of the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland (RCPI) Clinical Advisory Group on Smoking and E-Cigarettes.

After all, a study published in The Lancet last year found that in 2015, people aged 15–24 had the lowest odds of e-cigarette use, but by 2023, they had the highest.

"That prevalence at a very young age has really increased at an explosive rate in the last 10 years," he said.

Meanwhile, there's ample evidence that kids who try out vaping are dramatically more likely to start to smoke cigarettes, he said.

It's also important to understand that the tobacco industry is increasingly involved in making "novel nicotine products", such as vapes and pouches, he said.

That's an industry valued at about $1 trillion per annum globally, which is practiced at evading regulation and sustaining profits, he said. "I suspect the industry already has plans to evolve again."

But it makes those profits selling a highly addictive product that kills almost two in three long-term users, said Kavanagh. 

Popping up

Mohsin Khan Shahzadagul, who is the owner of Mars Mix, says that what he offers in his stores is not dissimilar to any corner store.

"Our vape collection is the same like Centra," he said. Yet, people focus more for some reason on small businesses, he said. But he doesn't sell alcohol, say.

Besides, vapes aren't his priority, he said.

The priority is soft drinks and snacks that are novel in Ireland, he said. "I have 30 flavours in Monsters. I'm more focused to be honest on soft drinks or crisps that are very rare to find."

"I'm really thinking what new I can bring to the area. What will be good, you know. Good stuff," he said.

Indeed, it's just like a Spar, says Jan Fiderak, the owner of XMania. "You get a sweet there, you get a snack there, you get a drink there, and you get a vape from behind the counter as well."

He doesn't think the retail mix encourages young people to vape, he said. It's not like people will come for sweets and on the spot decide to get a vape as well, he said. "No way."

The mix works because the business just has more to offer on the shelves, he said. "People spend more money in the shops."

Still, changes coming down the line should dramatically change the presentation of vapes in stores – whether that's "candy and vape" shops, or big franchises.

It's been illegal since December 2023 to sell e-cigarettes to children, those under 18 years. At the same time, the government brought in licencing and regulation around the sale of nicotine products.

Retailers of tobacco and nicotine inhaling products had to apply for a licence by 2 August 2026, said a spokesperson for the Department of Health. They have to renew each year, too.

If a retailer is convicted of two or more "Category A" offences, such as selling to a child, they can lose their licence, they said.

A bill that passed earlier this year bans single-use vapes. That takes effect from 24 January next year, said a Department of Health spokesperson.

Kavanagh says that ban matters, given that health professionals have tracked how the massive uptick in kids vaping came as single-use vapes appeared on the market, he said.

From 2015 to 2023, e-cigarette use increased almost three-fold (from 3.1 percent to 8.4 percent) in the general population, says the Lancet study.

But it went up almost 20-fold (0.9 percent to 17⋅7 percent) among those aged 15–24 years, rising largely in the period post-2019, the study found.

Meanwhile, an upcoming law takes aim at the advertising.

"The Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) (Amendment) Bill 2026 will prohibit the advertising of nicotine products in all retail premises," said a spokesperson for the Department of Health.

Displaying nicotine products will be prohibited in all retail premises other than those that only sell such products, they said.

"This is in addition to a range of further measures to reduce the appeal of nicotine inhaling products to young people," they said.

The bill will restrict the appearance of nicotine inhaling products and their packaging, and flavours will be limited to "tobacco", they said.

"There is no planned legislation to prohibit the sale of tobacco, nicotine inhaling products or other nicotine products in mixed retail premises," said the spokesperson.

But the government's "Tobacco Free Ireland" policy is under review at the moment, they said. "This will include further consideration of the retail environment for tobacco and nicotine products, with the aim of ending the epidemic of harm caused by tobacco and continuing to protect children and young people from nicotine."

Indeed, the changes already undertaken are big steps and welcome, said Kavanagh. "We would support all of them."

Shahzadagul said they'll of course follow the rules as they change. "I can't say if they will impact me or not," he said. "If something is banned, we won't sell it at all."

Fiderak said that XMania will adjust and implement any new laws of course, but what form they will take isn't yet totally clear. "Kind of it is, but when and how long."

Responding to change

Vapes themselves are harmful for users, said Kavanagh, the chair of the RCPI's Clinical Advisory Group on Smoking and E-Cigarettes.

Nicotine is categorised in law as a poison, he said. "We know it's highly addictive," he said. "It has effects on mood, concentration and impulse control."

These days, kids may have a much greater vocabulary around mental health, and talk about it, he said – but then they may also have access to nicotine products.

Also, inhaling substances, even if you just use common-sense, isn't good for lungs and heart, he said.

But the other big issue around vapes and e-cigarettes is that there is ample evidence kids who vape are more likely to smoke cigarettes in the future, he said. They're between three and five times more likely, he said.

"Smoking is just devastatingly harmful," he said.

Meanwhile, the tobacco industry evolves and reacts as regulations change, he said.

So, the government needs to remain agile and responsive, he said. And it needs to be working towards a "tobacco free future" – watching and responding to the spread of e-cigarettes, while doubling down on work to end smoking.

It needs to look at a generational smoking ban, along the lines of that being rolled out in the United Kingdom, he said.

Adults who smoke now would be unaffected by that measure, he said, and surveys show that the public in Ireland is behind it.

Because each week in Ireland, there are still almost 100 people who die and over 1,000 people who are hospitalised due to tobacco product use, he said – with the burden falling on those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

By the end of today, and every day, another 10 people in Ireland will have sat before their doctors only to be told that they have cancer caused by smoking, he said.