
Iain Dale 7pm - 10pm
30 May 2025, 06:01
A convenience store in Alloa has sold 'thousands' of boxes of single-use vapes ahead of a UK-wide ban coming into force on June 1st, with one customer saying she's the area's 'answer to Martin Lewis'.
Workers at the town's Spar have been racking up thousands of likes and comments on social media, as they sell off the remaining stock at discounted rates. Customers can buy three boxes for £30, with 10 vapes in each box.
Staff member Diane told LBC they've even had requests to post boxes to Ireland.
"The customer in on Wednesday night spent just under £800 - just on boxes of vapes," she said. "I've had people from Boness, people from Dundee, I've had people from Grangemouth and one even from Manchester. We're really run off our feet but we get there. Just need to keep smiling and getting on with it."
The shop is welcoming a mixture of regular customers and new faces.
"We're seeing them coming in three or four times a day," Diane said. "They're getting different flavours, different brands.
One of the customers coming back time and time again is Cheryl McLean.
"I don't actually smoke but my whole family does, and a few of them are on the vapes," she told LBC. "So my sister was on holiday and there was a shop in Alloa doing a deal on them and they were £10 a pop. So since I'm the only one that drives she asked me to go in and get them.
Over the past eight weeks or so I think I've bought about 22 boxes of 10. So that's for my sister, my friend and my niece. They like vaping the disposables. They say it's better for if they're at an event they're not going to run out of charge. My sister says they taste better than the oils."
Cheryl's praised the shop's layout, saying the stacks of vapes are 'right as you come in the door'.
"I did bump into a lady outside the shop and I was explaining to her how I don't vape and it's just for friends and family," she continued. "I like a bargain, I'm like Tullibody's answer to Martin Lewis, I feel.
"And this woman had 33 boxes in her house. She said she was stockpiling because she only likes the disposable vapes and she doesn't know what she's going to do when they can't sell them on the 1st of June."
Despite the discounts, Diane says some customers are still looking to haggle.
"They'll buy three boxes and say 'Can we get one free?' and we're like 'No'. There are vape shops in the town that aren't even doing the same deals as us."
The UK-wide ban on single-use vapes takes effect from Sunday 1st June.