A new study warns that a surge in 'store-within-a-store' vape outlets is driving the high concentration of vape shops in Auckland’s poorest suburbs. Video / Ryan Bridge Today
A study warns that ‘store‑within‑a‑store’ vape outlets in dairies are increasing in poorer Auckland suburbs.
This trend exploits a legislative loophole, undermining efforts to reduce youth exposure to vaping.
Researchers recommend closing these loopholes and limiting new vape retail licences in high-deprivation areas.
A new study warns that a surge in “store-within-a-store” vape outlets – makeshift vape rooms tucked inside dairies and convenience stores – is helping drive the high concentration of vaping retailers in Auckland’s poorest suburbs.
Researchers describe the trend as a legislative loophole that is undermining efforts to reduce youthexposure to vaping.
Researcher Robin van der Sanden, a researcher of the study published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, said the findings of higher vape-outlet density in lower-socioeconomic suburbs, such as Ōtara and Papakura, was expected, given previous research showing the same pattern.
The key concern uncovered was the development of “stores within a store”, which she said was a creative workaround in response to 2020 legislation aimed at diminishing vaping in New Zealand.“I think a certain kind of fake retail that’s really increased is this – these little vape shops that keep popping up inside, or beside, dairies, convenience stores, and sometimes even liquor stores,” van der Sanden told the Herald.
Many retailers selling vape products operate close to education facilities despite legislation aimed at restricting the proximity to schools. Photo / 123 rf
The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Act 2020 limited outlets like dairies, supermarkets and petrol stations to selling only mint, tobacco and menthol flavours.
Specialist Vape Retailers (SVR), operating from a “fixed, permanent” structure and generating at least 70% of store revenue from the sale of vape products, were able to sell a wider range.
Van der Sanden admitted the store owners were innovatively applying the rules.
“You walk into the dairy, and you’re looking around, and you notice in the corner, there’s this sort of little, almost like a wee room that has been constructed.
“And it says ‘vape store’ across the top, or something like that.
“It’s quite clear that it’s a wee, almost like an ad hoc little shop within a shop.”
The study selected 14 Auckland suburbs based on levels of deprivation, ranging from the least deprived to those with higher levels.
Outlets selling vaping products were far more common in lower-socioeconomic areas and generally Māori and Pacific communities were bearing the brunt.
Those same areas, such as Ōtara, Glenn Innes and Papatoetoe, were also where the “store-within-a-store” arrangement sprouted far more abundantly.
The study noted the findings were additional evidence of vape retail location and density as an emerging form of health inequity in New Zealand.
Another key aspect was that 56% of stores selling vape products were within 300m of an education facility, which included schools and tertiary institutes.
In 2023, new legislation no longer allowed new SVR licences to be obtained by retailers located within 300m of a registered school or marae.
However, these regulations do not apply to licences granted to retailers before this date and many young people continued to be exposed to vape products at local outlets, van der Sanden said.
“The fact that dairies and convenience stores tend to be located out of shopping centres, in community areas, you know they are frequented by younger age groups.”
Targeting these retailers with public health regulation would have a meaningful impact, she said.
“Myself and the team who wrote the paper recommend that policymakers look at closing these loopholes to reduce or curb the further development of this kind of retail.”
Recommendations in the study also drew from recent local alcohol policy, which freezes new liquor licences in high-risk areas as a possible control method.
“You could consider a similar thing for vape retail … especially in high‑deprivation areas,” she said.
A “sinking‑lid” policy on new SVR licences would cut outlet numbers over time without stopping dairies and supermarkets from selling basic mint, menthol and tobacco flavours.
Mike Scott is an award-winning visual journalist with more than two decades’ experience telling stories across multiple media platforms.
