VAPE UK

The two streets where more than 50 e-cig shops are now clustered

- PHIL CARDY

WELCOME to the Vape District, where more than 50 gaudy e-cigarette shops are packed into two neighbouring streets.

Cheetham Hill in Greater Manchester, a stone's throw from Strangeways prison, is home to 54 vape stores lining two roads. Harris Street is home to 30 consecutive shops, while around the corner Overbridge Road has 24.

The inner-city area has been transformed into an e-cigarette smokers' paradise over the past few years. It was previously notorious for counterfeit clothing, until police stamped out the trade there in 2022's Operation Vulcan - a major crackdown on organised crime.

In 2024 Greater Manchester Police reported that they had seized almost 1,050 tons of hooky items, shut down 216 shops, made 238 arrests and seized more than £500,000 in cash. They also found almost 400,000 illicit vapes.

Since then, ever more and more vape shops have been popping up.