The tie-up will create up to 40 jobs and ‘make stop smoking services more accessible in communities across the country‘
VPZ, the UK’s leading vaping retailer, is set to open 10 new stores by December 2024 as part of a groundbreaking partnership with the supermarket chain Morrisons, with plans to expand further during 2025.
The new in-store outlets will expand the brand’s presence in communities throughout the UK, with seven key locations in Leeds Hunslet, Birmingham Stirchley, Glenrothes, Peterhead, Darlington, Stratford and Grantham.
The collaboration will also introduce a new innovative mobile pod concept for customer parking areas, with two planned for Nottingham and one in Rotheram.
The partnership will drive positive change by making stop smoking services more accessible in communities throughout the country, whilst educating smokers on the benefits of more sustainable vaping products.
The new sites will help expand and complement VPZ’s mission to help people on their journey to quit smoking by improving access to expert stop-smoking advice and education.
VPZ stores offer a dedicated one-to-one service to help smokers quit. VPZ specialists are trained and have expert knowledge, engaging with smokers to educate them on the health and financial benefits of switching to vaping.
Furthermore, as a part of their shared commitment to environmental responsibility, all new stores will include VPZ’s comprehensive recycling programme. The service is open to all vapers, as anyone can visit the new stores and dispose safely of their vaping devices or e-cigarettes.
Greig Fowler, Director at VPZ, said: “Our partnership with Morrisons to open 10 new stores is a pivotal step in our mission to transform the health of our nation by empowering more people to become smoke-free.
“I believe that together we will be making it easier for smokers to access the resources, help and education they need to quit smoking, while also offering a convenient and sustainable shopping experience.”
He added: “We are looking forward to launching our new in-store locations, pod concepts and exploring further growth in 2025.”
VPZ has recently voiced concerns that the newly announced vape tax increase will unfairly impact the most vulnerable and set back the UK’s 2030 smoke-free targets. As vaping remains one of the most effective methods to quit smoking, VPZ has warned that higher taxes on vaping products could discourage smokers from switching, undermining both health and financial benefits.
VPZ also supports plans to ban disposable vapes across the UK and Scotland by June next year, however they have highlighted the rise of ‘Big Puff’ disposable vapes which threaten to bring a new youth vaping epidemic and even greater damage to the environment.
The imported products are exploiting a loophole in regulations to create a new and larger single-use vaping product ahead of the disposables vape ban.
Greig Fowler added: “These illegal ‘Big Puffs’ undermine our objectives and are poised to create a public health crisis with unregulated products flooding the marketplace.
“At the current moment, data shows that more than ever there is a need for the Government to step in to support trading standards and local authorities to keep up with the scale of the ‘Big Puff‘ epidemic.
“We urge for a better collaboration between the industry and regulatory bodies to address this arising issue promptly and ensure that these vapes do not flood the UK market even further and endanger the quit-smoking progress that has been achieved so far.”
To date, Edinburgh-based VPZ has already helped over 1 million smokers in the UK quit since it was established in 2012.