A SHOP specialising in vaping and vape products has closed down in Chepstow, though the electronic cigarette craze remains strong in nearby Newport.

Earlier this week, Red Barracuda Vape took to social media, announcing that it had closed its store in Bulwark Road, Chepstow, effective immediately.

No reason for the closure has been given, though customers have been informed that the company’s web store remains open, along with its shop in Rumney in Cardiff.

Confirming the news, a representative from Red Barracuda Vape Chepstow said: “We apologise for the swiftness of this announcement but Red Barracuda have ceased trading as of Monday 21st.

“We'd like to thank all of our loyal customers over the few years. Thank you for trusting us to get your switch to vaping started and for choosing us time and time again to support you through the journey.

“For any further support you can order online at Barracudavape.co.uk or redboxvape.com.

“Our Rumney (cardiff) store will continue to operate. For any queries or questions, these can be put forward to our online customer support.

“We'll miss you.”

But, despite one vape retailing closing their doors, it is thought that the practice remains extremely popular elsewhere in the Gwent area.

Newport - the vaping capital of Wales?

New data, released this month, suggests that vaping is more popular in Newport than most places in the UK - and certainly more than anywhere else in Wales.

According to vape retailer MIST, Newport has the second highest percentage of vapers in the whole of the United Kingdom.

Its research comes with a slight asterisk - in that the firm only has access to sales data from their own brands, but they found that when comparing the number of sales to the population size, only Norwich had more sales than Newport, relative to population size.

Of course, in terms of sheer volume, much bigger cities are likely to have higher individual sales figures.

MIST’s founder and chief executive Fred Cassman, said: "It's fascinating to see the vaping hot spots mapped across the UK. I started working in the vaping industry over 15 years ago when e-cigarettes weren't a household name, so to see the growth of vaping across the country is really incredible."

"We tend to find that vaping hot spots are most commonly areas that previously had a lot of smokers, because most vape users start as a way of giving up cigarettes. We particularly find there to be a spike in new vape users in January after Brits have made their New Year's resolutions."