An e-cigarette shop has opened on Knaresborough High Street.
Kings Lites is based in the former Yorkshire Building Society unit that has been vacant since 2018.
The e-cigarette specialist already has two stores in York and is looking at opening a fourth site, with Harrogate on its radar.
Former professional boxer Zak Collins, founder and director of Kings Lites, said the store aimed to help smokers quit and move onto e-cigarettes.
Mr Collins said:
“It is a healthier alternative to smoking and saves you a fortune. Cigarettes now cost around £17 a pack, if you switch to e-cigarettes you are saving around £120 a week if you smoke a pack a day, that can add up to a family holiday.
“It is also better for the environment and we have recyclable vape bins in our stores.”
Mr Collins said he grew up following a healthy lifestyle but his parents smoked and he watched his mum struggle to quit using replacement products.
When she eventually managed it using an e-cigarette, Mr Collins had his “lightbulb moment” and opened the Acomb store in York to help others.
‘We have received a lot of hate’
A social media post by the company announcing its opening said the Knaresborough shop would “help, serve and advise the local community on living a much healthier and finically beneficial lifestyle”.
Mr Collins said a 2021 NHS review found people who used e-cigarettes to quit smoking were up to twice as likely to succeed as people who used other nicotine replacement products, such as patches or gum.
But he added there remained a stigma around e-cigarette stores. When Kings Lites announced its new location, it received a backlash on this Knaresborough Facebook group for what it does and its colourful frontage.
Mr Collins said:
“It is completely shocking, the shops in York have always gone down really well. We have received a lot of hate opening the new shop and it is difficult to understand and quite insulting.
“There is a market for us in Knaresborough and we offer a huge selection. The shop is a big change for the High Street but things are bound to change and the colour is just to draw people in, the ones in York are the same.
“I just hope people will give us a chance to show who we are. We haven’t set out to upset anyone or be garish we are just trying to help people quit smoking and give the people of Knaresborough a healthier alternative.”
Mr Collins didn’t comment on today’s vote to ban smoking and vaping for children born since 2009 but said:
“Children vaping is horrendous and the entire industry gets tarnished because of it. We take pride in offering people a healthier alternative.”
He said the company planned to “strike while the iron is hot” by expanding, adding it was looking at potential sites in the Harrogate area to open its fourth store.
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