A large display of vapes right by children’s sweets in a large Weston-super-Mare supermarket has sparked concern at North Somerset Council.

The big Morrisons off Mendip Roundabout in Worle displays brightly coloured vapes on an end aisle display, directly between a seasonal aisle full of Halloween sweets and the supermarket’s magazine aisle which also includes children’s magazines and, further down the aisle, toys. A small section of “clearance” vapes on the sides of the display were behind a box of hula hoop toys on one side and boxes of sweet multipacks on the other.

Raising a concern about vapes at a North Somerset Council committee meeting on October 10 discussing its smoking strategy, Jemma Coles (Weston-super-Mare Mid Worle, Liberal Democrat) asked if the council could do more to stop shops displaying vapes next to sweets. She said: “There’s a supermarket in town where when you walk to the end of the children’s sweets aisle there’s a huge vape display.”

Matt Lenny, the council’s director of public health and regulatory services, said the council would need more powers. But he said teams were working to tackle the sale of illegal vapes.

A spokesperson for Morrisons said: “The display is in line with current legislation on vaping products. Where possible we aim to locate vaping products away from areas of the store with products suitable for younger people, however this is not always possible in all stores.

“We employ a Challenge 25 policy to ensure that customers are at least 18 years old. If a customer appears to be under 25, they will be asked to provide photo ID.

“We also do not offer vape flavours that may be considered appealing to younger people including bubblegum. All vaping products sold within Morrisons stores are subject to our strict sourcing policies, including being MHRA registered and passing all relevant diligence checks.”

But the company added that it would be contacting the store to ask them to move the hula hoops and sweets.