I’m new to vaping. I was in a small vape shop yesterday. I was having a look around at some other stuff for a few minutes and in that short time frame at least five or six people bought nicotine disposable vapes from out of a book on the counter. If that many were served in only a few minutes, I imagine they must sell a reasonable amount of disposable vapes each day.

By now everyone knows this is illegal. So is there something I’m missing in relation to the openness with which they are selling these items? Because from what I read the financial penalties are pretty significant. And there’s even potential jail time if I read the legislation correctly.

For example, cocaine is illegal but you can still find it with the right connections. But not to the extent that you can just walk into a shop and ask for some under the counter amphetamines. Or can you and I’m just sheltered!?

I was thinking maybe because it’s a new law sellers might hope for some leniency if they’re caught. Is it possible that some people bought into a vape shop, possibly invested their life savings into it, before nicotine vapes became illegal and so they have nothing to lose? So they just ignore the legalities of it because they’ll lose money either way? Did the government do anything to compensate vape vendors when changing the law? Were they given a decent warning it became illegal? Or were there always technicalities around vape sales?

Like I said, I’m new to vaping and it’s just got me wondering whether there is something I’m missing because I can’t think of any other product where brick and mortar shops will so blatantly sell illegal products?

Edit - turns out I was completely mistaken about the law change in Oct, it was always illegal. Which actually makes it more confusing as to why shops would so blatantly flout this law. And also makes sense why the vaping community hate these people so much.