Retailer calls for action as underage vaping fuels shop violence

A plastic-free grocery store in Edinburgh has called for urgent action on youth crime after a violent incident linked to underage vaping left its shopfront damaged.

The Refillery, an ethical grocery store in Newington, was among the businesses affected when a group of teenagers vandalised its windows following an altercation at a nearby store that refused to sell them vapes.

The incident, which took place around 9pm on Friday (31 January), saw the teenagers allegedly swinging a pallet and attacking staff at another shop before moving onto the street, where they caused damage to The Refillery.

“Seems they were angry that a shop on the same street wouldn't sell them vapes (as they're underage). They ran riot in the shop near us swinging a pallet around and attacking the staff,” the store wrote in a social media post.

“Thankfully we were closed but the chaos spilled onto the street and they somehow felt the need to cause damage to our shop.”

The store called out local MP Ian Murray, who serves as the secretary of state for Scotland, questioning what measures are being taken to curb youth violence in the area. The post highlighted the increasing trend of aggressive behaviour towards retailers, particularly those refusing to sell age-restricted products.

While The Refillery does not sell vapes, cigarettes, or alcohol, the presence of stores allegedly supplying underage customers is bringing trouble to the area, the post claimed.

“There's very little the other shop keepers can do when these teenagers launch their attacks as they're too young and many are girls too. They simply have to stand back. Which I imagine is very frustrating,” the post read.

“What's going to be done @ianmurraymp to stop teenagers running feral on your doorstep?”

Last week, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has flagged a surge in retail crime across the UK, with its latest annual crime survey revealing that incidents of violence and abuse soared to over 2,000 per day in 2023/24—up from 1,300 the previous year. Among these, 70 incidents per day involved a weapon, more than double the previous year’s rate.

Police Scotland confirmed receiving a report about the incident, adding that the enquiries were ongoing.